


Bliss

by mysterKey



Category: K-pop, NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, I am really trash at tags w.e, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-23
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-04-26 16:26:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14405994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysterKey/pseuds/mysterKey
Summary: The pastel tree-like birthmark crawling up Taeyong's arm had never bothered him until it faded to grey. Can Ten bring the color back into his life?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first non-SHINee fic ever. I've found it difficult to write for SHINee since Jonghyun's passing but I missed writing terribly so it got channeled into Ten and Taeyong because they're absolutely precious. Anyways, I hope you enjoy~

For as long as Taeyong could remember, he's had this mark on his wrist. A branches design, starting at blue closest to his wrists then fading yo  light pink the further up his arm it got. His parents say that he was born this way, the mark growing along with him as he aged. The mark peaked the interest of many as he grew. The countless amount of times he got scolded as a child by teachers thinking that it was a tattoo. The friends he made and lost because of the strange mark crawling up his arm.

He used to do everything he could to cover it up. From wearing long sleeved shirts exclusively to wearing an excessive amount of bracelets to covering it up with makeup. He’s tried everything. At some point covering up something so intrinsically a part of him seemed like too much of a hassle that stopped. The less he cared about hiding it, the less people asked about it, and the more free Taeyong became.

“Taeyong hyung, look out!” The warning comes too late, the basketball slamming into his side.

“Fuck, Mark. Are you sure that you have nothing against me? Shit that hurt.” He clutches his side.

“Hey, you were the one that wasn’t looking for the ball.” Mark defends himself. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’ll be alright.” It probably won’t even bruise if he's lucky. “But I think that I’m going to head to the showers.”

“I'll meet you there in a bit.”

Mark and the rest of the guys head into the locker room when he's already out of the shower getting dressed.

“You're coming to Johnny hyung’s place later right?” Mark asks, taking his shirt off.

“Huh? Did you guys plan something? I didn't hear anything about it.”

“Yeah a little party to celebrate his new internship.”

“Right, yeah I'll be there.” He'll have to start his homework earlier, but he was always willing to make time for his friends within reason. “What time does it start?”

“I think at eleven. You can ask him, he'll be out of the shower soon.”

“I've got to go meet my group for this dumb project in like ten minutes. So can you just have him text me the details. I'll buy a bottle too for the celebration.” Taeyong packs up his bag, slinging it over his shoulder.

“I don't think anyone in their right mind would reject free alcohol.”  

“Tequila or rum?”

“Rum always.” The kids palate wasn't refined enough for the crispness of tequila. “Hyung, is your birthmark a different color?”

“Huh?” He glances down at his wrist. Mark was right, the normally vibrant mark was paler. He’s so used to ignoring the mark that it doesn't even cross his mind during his day to day life. For all he knows the mark could've been fading for weeks without him knowing. He'd have to call his parents to tell them about it later. “Yeah, I guess so. It doesn't hurt or anything so it's fine. I'll catch you later.”

Taeyong hated everything about group projects. Having to depend on other people to get a satisfactory grade peaked his anxiety. Too bad economics classes depended so much upon group work. He should've changed majors when he had the chance.

“Really? None of them are answering their phones?” Taeyong huffs, running a hand through his hair. Out of the seven group members, only three of them, including Taeyong have shown up at the meeting place at the arranged time.

“Seolhyun looked at the message and didn't reply.” Jeonghan says as if that made the situation any better.

“This is unbelievable.” Namjoo groans.

“Did we get stuck with the most incompetent people in the class?” Jeonghan moans.  

“You would think they'd be weeded out by the level five hundred courses.”

“If they don't show up in twenty, let's just call it a day.” Turns out, they couldn't depend on anyone.

 

“I'm in the library. What is it? Taeyong picks up his phone, trying to keep his voice low as to not interrupt the other people in the library.

“Do you want to come us for lunch?” Haechan asks.

“I have to study.” He had an exam coming up, and there was no way he was going to do badly in a class that basically handed you an A.

“I'll use a swipe on you.”

“Say no more.” The struggles of being a broke upperclassmen.

 

Taeyong’s eyes flutter open, the fluorescent lights sting his eyes. “What the fuck?”

“Hi.” Taeyong turns his head to face the stranger sitting at his side. He’s smiling brightly despite Taeyong’s confusion.

“Where am I?”

“The infirmary. You passed out in the library so I brought you here.” Taeyong hasn't seen the infirmary since his freshmen year. He learned the hard way that all they did in this place was hand you an ice pack and pray for the best.

“Who are you exactly?” Taeyong doesn't recognise the guy. Behind his thick dark bangs, Taeyong couldn’t place the face.

“Ten. My name is Ten.” The man introduces with a smile, his eyes turning into crescents.

“Like the number?”

“Yes, but it's complicated.”  

Taeyong chuckles, “Complicated? I'm the one sitting here in the infirmary.” He sits up with a groan, the ice pack that was on his head falling into his lap. “Um thanks, for bringing me here I guess.”

“Hyung, are you okay?” Haechan and Mark run into the infirmary. They cast a sideways glance over at Ten before turning their attention back to the sickly person.

Taeyong blinks. “How did you know I was here?”

“I answered your phone when he called and told them where you were. I hope you don’t mind.” Ten explains.

“Ten?” Mark questions.

“You two know each other?” Taeyong looks between Mark and Ten.

“We’ve met a few times because of Johnny hyung. They're friends.” Mark explains.

“Oh, well nice to meet you then Ten.” Taeyong bows slightly, Ten returns the gesture.

“Well, now that your friends are here, I should go.” Ten excuses himself, standing from chair he was sitting it.

“Uh, thanks again Ten.”

“No problem.” Ten waves before heading through the door.

 

“Are you sure you should be drinking? You did pass out earlier this morning.” Mark asks concerned.

Taeyong waves him off, “It's just a couple of shots, I'm okay. Besides the nurse said I was fine.” If there was any person he should be concerned about, it was Lucas. Taeyong has personally seen him take at least seven shots. Sure the boy had a couple more inches on him, but there was no way he wasn't feeling it right about now. Besides, the main goal is to get Johnny drunk, not the other way around.

The doorbell rings, Johnny leaping to get it. “Hey Ten! Welcome! Come in.” Taeyong’s head whips around towards the door. Ten? The man greets Johnny with a hug and smile. Taeyong isn't sure if it's the alcohol talking, but Ten looks absolutely scrumptious. The black choker around his neck. The low V cut T-shirt. The skin tight pants. Is that fucking leather?

Johnny gets him situated, with a drink in hand. Not that Taeyong was watching him or anything. Taeyong loses sight of the man in the small but rowdy crowd. “Hey, Taeyong right?” Ten pops up behind him.

Taeyong almost jumps out of his skin, “Fuck. Don't do that!”

“Do you always tend to be this jumpy?” Ten looks at him up and down. Taeyong isn’t nearly as nicely dressed for this occasion as Ten is. He came here right after a group study session, and had nothing else to wear.

“Only when my perception is stunted by alcohol.” Really, he only had about five shots, and was feeling hot but not drunk. He needed just a bit more to get to that point.

Ten raises an eyebrow at him. “Should you be drinking when you were in the infirmary earlier?”

“Why does everyone keep asking that? I can take care of myself.” Genuinely he could. He wasn’t too messy of a drunk.

“I'm sure you can.” Ten nods with a smirk.

“What's that look for?” Taeyong gets defensive, crossing his arms in front of him.

“What look?”

“That stupid cute smile.”

“Did you just call me cute?” Ten questions, tilting his head. Ten finds his boldness to be quite amusing.

“No, not you, your smile.” Taeyong corrects with a shake of his head. “But you too,  I guess.”

“Thanks. You're not too bad yourself. Taeyong can feel his face heating up. Could be the alcohol, could be his embarrassment. Either way, he just hopes that Ten can't see underneath the colorful strobe lights.

Taeyong quickly changes the subject, “Uh, how long have you known Johnny?”

“Uh, since I was a freshmen? So three years?”

“So you're a third year?” Ten nods. Taeyong isn't sure how he managed to miss this guy in any of their gen eds, he was a beacon for attention. “Ah you’re younger than me.”   

“I guess we were bound to meet eventually weren't we?”

“Almost like fate?” Taeyong giggles to himself.  He doesn't necessarily believe in the idea of fate bringing people together, but he isn't against the idea if Ten is the other end of the equation.

“Almost like fate.” Ten agrees.

“What are you to doing over here in a corner?” Jaehyun makes his way over to the pair, swinging his arm around Taeyong’s shoulders. “Getting to know each other?”

“Ten was the one that brought me to the infirmary earlier.” Taeyong states.

“Ah, our Lord and savior. Thanks for saving our dear Taeyongie, Ten.” Jaehyun says jokingly.

“I didn't do much.” Ten modestly rejects Jaehyun’s compliment.

“Well, Taeyong should thank you by showing you his killer dance moves. Don't you think, Yong?”

“What are you doing?” Taeyong shoves at Jaehyun’s shoulder.

Jaehyun gets up close to his ear and whispers, “I know he's your type. Get on that.”

“I will kill you.” Taeyong whispers back.

“Kill me after you get with Ten, alright?” Jaehyun gives him a firm pat on the back.

“Ignore him.” Taeyong tells Ten, after Jaehyun leaves. “What are you drinking? Do you want more? I'm thirsty.” Ten follows Taeyong to the kitchen.

“I don't know, Johnny just handed it to me, I've barely touched it.” Ten sets the cup down on the kitchen island, fingering the rim. “But you’re a dancer?”  

“Why? Do you not drink?” He wasn’t about to force the guy to drink if he didn’t want to. “I do it for fun. A hobby.”   

“It's just too artificially sweet for my tastes.” Ten answers. “I’d love to see it sometimes. I dance too, for fun.”  

“Sure, maybe if I can get away from studying long enough. Would you like to take a shot with me instead?”

“Let's do it.” Ten’s enthusiasm shocks him, but Taeyong hands him a shot glass anyway.

“Pick your poison.” Most of the bottles are half empty by now, he doesn't know how these guys drink alcohol like it's water.

Ten looks around the selection before settling on on a bottle of tequila, a man after his heart. Ten pours himself a shot. “What about you?”

“I'll take the same.” Taeyong extends his glass, Ten filling it up to the brim. They clink their glasses before downing the liquid. Taeyong’s face contorts, but Ten takes the liquor down smoothly.

“That was quite gross wasn't it?” Taeyong coughs.

“Not the highest quality alcohol I've ever tried.” Ten agrees.

“The kids can't tell the difference.” Ten chuckles at his statement.

“We're going to play hotseat, come to the living room.” Mark calls.

“Hot seat?” Ten turns to Taeyong with a quizzical look on his face. “What's hot seat?”  Taeyong wraps his fingers around Ten’s wrist, leading him to the living room. There's already a chair in the center waiting for its first victims.

“Taeyong hyung you go first.” Lucas pushes him into the chair.

“I didn't sign up for this.” He protests.

“You're already there. Two minutes starts now.“  

“Out of these people in the room right now, who did you have the worst first impression of?”

“Johnny. He can be kind of brooding and with his tall stature.”

Johnny scoffs. “Rude! With your gigantic googly eyes, you’re scary too.”  

“Who's your favorite person here?”

“Hm, Mark maybe.”

“I told you that I was his favorite!” Mark exclaims.

“What's your favorite sex position?” It always ended up sexual with these guys. The first time he’d met Johnny, his tongue was stuck halfway down his other friend’s throat — Taeyong was no longer friends with that girl but Johnny and him formed a friendship out of it. As a freshmen, Mark had tried to hit on him at a different party all together, which was something that Taeyong would never let him live down.

“With girls, maybe reverse cowgirl. But for either gender, doggy is also a reliable favorite.”

“Are you a top or a bottom?”

“Pretty versatile, I think.”

“When did you lose your virginity?”

“With a girl, when I was seventeen. With a guy when I was nineteen.”

“Which did you like better?”

“Firsts are rarely good, are they? Both have their perks.”

“If you could date anyone in this room, who would it be?”

“Ten.” He answers in a heartbeat.

“What is it about Ten here that you like so much?”

“Have you guys even looked at him? His smile is really hot. Not to mention all the jewelry in his ear. He has a very soft and delicate voice. It'd sound so good under me or dominating me.”

“Wow isn't our Taeyong a little frisky.”

He should really learn how to shut the fuck up with alcohol running through him. Maybe he'd come to regret this later.

“How?” Taeyong turns toward Ten, confused by the question.

“How?” He repeats.

“How would you like to fuck me? Or be fucked. Whichever.”

“Eh, sorry times up. All remaining questions can be answered during the next round of hot seat or within your own private time.”

“Who's next?” Taeil gets pulled into the chair next. Taeyong loses Ten in the crowd, and he knows that he's fucked up. He's practically ran away from Taeyong.

 

“Are you avoiding me?” Ten corners him two weeks later. He didn't realize before how many times he crossed paths with Ten before their meeting. How had he missed him? They had a mutual business class, their favorite place to eat on campus was the Greenery. They studied in the same corner of the library— or well Taeyong studied and Ten seemed to jerk around most of the time.

“Huh, why would you think that?” Taeyong denies looking away from the man.

“Well, every time I come around with Johnny, you wave and then scurry away like you've seen demons.”

“I'm busy. I have a part time job. I had go um do work in the library.”

“You even ran away in the library.” He points out.

“Why on earth would I be running away from you?”

“Because you're embarrassed about what you said at the party.”

“I'm not embarrassed about what I said.” He really wasn’t. He was sober enough to know what he was saying.

“Then what is it?”

“I don't know how to face you after that.” Proudly admitting that you’d love to be boned by someone at a party surely would make things awkward.  

“How about with a smile?”

“Hm?”

“You have a pretty smile. I mean the whole brooding serious look is sexy too but your smile is stunning.” Ten compliments. “We should be friends. Really good friends.”

“I would like that.”

Ten grins, “So I'm your type huh?”

“Are you really asking me that?”

“Hey, you said it, not me.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im terrible at summaries, but thank you for the comments and kudos on the last chapter. I hope that you enjoy this chapter as well

And that's how they became friends. Friends Taeyong has to remind himself. Friends don't want to kiss the stupid look off of their friend’s face. Friends don't want to cuddle while they watch horror movies he's too afraid to admit scare the shit out of him. Friends don't blush when their friends smile at them. But they were friends, so obviously Taeyong never did those things. Never.  

They’re sitting on the couch in the middle of his living room watching an American romantic comedy. The rest of the guys are out of the house insisting that something was bound to happen between himself and Ten and when it did, they didn't want to be around to hear it. Taeyong forgot the name, but it's one of Ten’s favorites. He doesn't know half of the storyline because his English isn't good enough, nor has he been focusing on the subtitles either when Ten’s melodious laughter has been filling the room. 

Ten glances at him, before chuckling to himself and turning back to the tv.

“What is it?” Taeyong questions.

“Are you even paying attention to the movie?” 

Taeyong scoffs, “Of course I am.” 

Ten raises an eyebrow amused. “Oh really? What's the main guy’s name?”

“Uh, Jack?” 

Ten laughs, “This isn't the Titanic.” 

“Fine, I'm not paying attention.”  

“Is there something on your mind?”  

Now he could be truthful as he had been in the past, but clearly, that wasn't working out for him. “Not really.” 

Ten hums at his dishonesty. “I've never asked before but what the mark on your arm?” Taeyong instinctively moves to cover his wrist. “Uh, I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have asked.” 

“No, it's fine. It's just an instinctive habit at this point.” He removes his hand, rolling up his sleeve so Ten can get a full view of his arm. “It's a birthmark. It actually used to be colorful.” 

“It looks cool!” 

“Thanks. Do you have any marks on your body?” 

“Like a tattoo? Yeah, I've got one on my side.” It shocks Taeyong, but with eleven piercings in his ears it didn’t seem too far off for Ten.  

“Really? Why did I never know that?” 

“I don't know. I don't really go around walking shirtless? I can show you if you want.” Ten rises from the couch, pulling up his shirt and tugging his pants down a bit. It exposes the black and grey tree swirling up his side fading into birds flying away. The roots of the tree begin farther down Ten’s left leg than he can see but ends about halfway up his torso. 

“It's beautiful.” Taeyong is almost speechless. 

“It hurt really fucking bad and cost too much money.” He sits back down next to Taeyong. “I also have my nipple pierced, which also fucking hurt by the way.” How could someone so close to his ideal type exist? He must be fake. Ten turns his face towards again,  “What is it? Why are you so silent?” 

Maybe he'll come to regret this later but right now Taeyong couldn't care about that right now. He's pulled toward Ten like a magnet, his lips finding Ten’s easily. Taeyong has had many first kisses with an obscene amount of people but absolutely nothing compared to this. The hair on his arms raises from the sheer electricity running between them. Ten’s hand tenderly cradles his face, pulling Taeyong the slightest bit closer. 

Now, Taeyong wasn't shy when he wanted to take someone to bed. He could easily play dominant or submissive based on whoever he was with depending on the flow of the moment. Ten meets Taeyong with just as much intensity, playing to Taeyong’s game well. Taeyong wasn’t willing to give up this easily tonight, pressing forward more, Ten easily receiving him. Ten ends up with his back on the couch cushions, Taeyong situated in between his legs hovering over him. He plays at the hem of Ten’s shirt with his fingers. 

Taeyong pulls back from Ten to look at his face, really taking in the beauty that laid before him. Puffy lips and disheveled hair suited him well. 

“I can't sleep with you.” Ten declares with labored breaths, not even giving Taeyong another chance to dive back in.

“What?” Really? That's what Ten wants to say when Taeyong is above him? Now this, this had never happened before.  

“It's not that I don't want to, because believe me I want to. I just can't right now.” 

“Oh…” Taeyong sits back feeling a bit dejected, Ten follows suit sitting up. Ten feels bad blurting the words out like that because he can see the cogs rolling around in Taeyong's brain, Taeyong's face deflating. “It's not me, is it? Are you religious?” 

“Of course it's not you! You're perfect.” Ten reassures him, Taeyong blushes. “It's not a religious thing either. I just, if I'm going to sleep with you I want you to know everything.” 

“Everything?”

“I can't tell you now, but I will in time.” 

“Fine.” Taeyong puffs out his cheeks.”Does that mean we can't make out anymore?”  

Ten inches closers to Taeyong on the couch, his face mere centimeters from Taeyong's face, their lips separated by a thin layer of air. Taeyong can count all of the lashes on Ten's lids, all of his pores, all of his wrinkles with how close they were. Ten breathes against his lips, testing the waters.“Do you want to keep making out?” Taeyong bites his lip, with a slight nod. “Then we can keep making out.” It doesn't take more than a second for Ten to close the gap between them again.

 

“So you guys aren't dating?” Mark wants to clarify. It's been about two months since they started their friends with very little benefits relationship. Benefits meaning make-out sessions from time to time. Quite possibly the weakest friends with benefits relationships he's ever been in. Taeyong has never been more sexually frustrated in his life. 

“Nope.” Taeyong affirms, taking a sip of his lemon water. They never really made an effort to discuss what they were. Now Taeyong has been in a friend with benefits relationship before but it was nothing like this. There were no feelings involved, just a quick fuck, and that was it. But with Ten there was no fucking but all of the feelings and it left Taeyong feeling more frustrated than the regular arrangement.

“But you guys go on dates all the time.” Marks points out. sure they went out together in ways that could be described as a date. They went to a club together, where Taeyong learned first hand about Ten's dance skills. The younger man was nothing short of sinful, Ten knew that much an used it to his advantage willingly. They went to brunch almost every weekend at a cute little spot that Ten called his fave, it was just as good as Ten described. And maybe just maybe they've strolled through the park on numerous occasions holding hands. But still not a date. 

“It's just hanging out.” There was no defining what exactly they were. It was weird but it worked for the most part. Two friends romantically attracted to each other, doing things alone, and sometimes cuddling. Just hanging out. 

“I've walked in on you guys making out more times than I would've liked to.” Jaehyun adds to the narrative. 

“Still not dating.”

“I've legit heard you guys have sex over the phone.”

“You heard that?!” Taeyong can feel the heat rising in his face. God, that's embarrassing. It's only happened once, Ten being out of town for a few days and Taeyong being horny out of his mind. Ten wasn't expecting it, but he went along with it well. Telling Taeyong exactly what he wanted to do to him when he got the chance. They didn't talk about it after he returned and they hadn't done it since then, returning to their normal routine but it happened and changed their dynamics a bit. 

“The walls in our apartment are fucking thin.”  _ Memo to self: move _

“Well, we're really just friends.” 

“Well, here comes your boyfriend now.” Taeil nods in the direction behind him. 

“Where?” Taeyong whips around. 

“Dude you're whipped and you're not even dating yet.” 

“Shut up.” Taeyong bites on his sandwich.  

Someone, who Taeyong assumes is Ten, places their hands on his shoulders. “What's with the silence? Were you guys talking about me?” 

“Yes of course. You're a popular topic of conversation. Taeyong was just telling us a riveting story about how nice your dick is.” Mark jokes. 

“Geez, don't be jealous. Mark, if you want my dick all you have to do is ask.” Mark rolls his eyes. “Are you ready to go?” 

“Yeah, let me just pack up my stuff.” 

“Where are you two lovebirds headed?” 

“Somewhere quiet to study. Taeyong has an exam in two days.” 

“Somewhere quiet is code somewhere where they can make out without being noticed.” 

“Well don't go home then because I actually need to do work there.” Jaehyun says. 

“We weren't planning on going there anyways.” Taeyong affirms. “Let's go.” 

“Be safe kids!” Taeil calls after them, causing Ten to chuckle. 

 

“Welcome to my home.” Ten says opening the door to his apartment. After weeks of asking to come over, Ten finally relented to Taeyong’s request. “It's nothing much. It's just a place to sleep.”

“Nothing much? This is your definition of nothing much?” Taeyong’s mouth gapes. “How do you even afford a place like this?” The kitchen has granite countertops, brand new looking stainless steel appliances. The decoration was a modern black and color scheme with hints of royal blue. 

“My parents.” There were always whispers about Ten coming from an affluent family, that he neither affirmed or denied. And Taeyong wasn't going to be one to pry. 

“Dude, I'm on a scholarship and tutor to be able to even afford to go to this school.” He doesn't say it to make Ten pity him, just to put their respective lives in comparison. 

“My room is behind that door and the bathroom is right across from it. And that's about it.” 

“Can I see your room?” 

“Uh sure but fair warning, I didn't make my bed this morning and there's a pile of laundry that needs to be done because I haven't folded the clean clothes that currently reside in my laundry basket. Wouldn't want to trigger your cleanliness tingly senses.”

“I am not nearly that bad.” Ten’s room was as he warned, slightly messy but it wasn't too bad. Ten doesn't seem to decorate much, the walls of his room bare. “Are these your parents?” Taeyong picks up the only picture resting on Ten’s dresser to examine it further. Ten doesn't speak about his family much and Taeyong doesn't want to pry. He knew that Ten was an only child and that was about it. In the picture, Ten sits smiling in between a man and a woman each with a hand on his shoulder. They're formal tunics with fancy embroidery around the sides. They looked cute, wholesome. 

“Yep. Good old mom and dad.” 

“You guys are cute. Do you talk to them often?” 

“Almost everyday. They're very curious about my university life.” 

“Ah so you guys must be close.” 

“I wouldn't say close. More like I have an obligation to tell them what's going on in my life “

“Either way, that's so much more than I do with my parents.”

 

“Are you sure that you don't want me to walk you home or call you a cab?” Ten asks again as Taeyong buttons up his coat. 

“Positive, it's not that far.” It was about eleven now and normally Taeyong wouldn't go out this late but there was no point in Ten walking him back to his house and then having to go back. 

“Fine, but make sure to call me when you get home.” 

“Of course mom.” Ten leans forward to place a kiss on Taeyong’s lips. A bout of courage bubbles up within him before he asks, “Why aren't we dating?” 

“Are we not dating?” Ten tilts his head, confused.

“We never said that we were dating.” 

“I didn't know that it needed to be said.”

“Will you be my boyfriend?”

“Of course.” Boyfriends. It may seem childish but it makes Taeyong feel giddy. They share one more kiss before Taeyong starts to head back to his home. 

It's a fairly nice night, with spring finally rearing its head, the weather was finally bearable at night. The money is in a pretty crescent shape, the light bouncing off of the small puddles still remaining from the light rain shower that happened this afternoon. It's eerily quiet for this time of night. Ten doesn't exactly live on a desolate street, must be a slow day.  

_ Tap, tap, tap _

The sound of steps trailing behind him catches his attention. Taeyong isn't one to panic easily, but it was an unsettling feeling to say the least. He would be lying if he said that the pace of his steps was not gradually increasing. 

_ Tap, tap, tap _

The sound gets louder, quicker. Taeyong breaks into a sprint, making sure not to look behind him. He dashes into an alleyway, he knows a shortcut back home. The quicker he's back home, the safer he'll feel. 

There's a man waiting at the intersection of the alleyway, Taeyong shifts on his heels to try to run back the way he came. Another man stands there, cornering him. 

“Listen, I don't want any trouble. I don't have anything valuable on me, but you can take my phone or my laptop. I don't care but please don't hurt me.” Taeyong never thought that there would be a moment where he needed to beg for his life, but at this moment right now, he would beg and plead as much as he needed to. 

“We don't want your mundane items.” This isn't how Taeyong envisioned he die, in an alleyway, alone. He pictured something more peaceful like passing away in his sleep. He certainly wouldn't die without a fight. 

“How much vonas do you think you can get for him?” One of the men asks the other. Taeyong can’t see their faces from here but he can see the glint of the gold lining their teeth. 

“Probably a couple of million.” 

“We'll be living pretty for the rest of our lives. Let's get him!” They charge at him, Taeyong flailing his limbs to resist in any way that he can. 

“Let go of me!” Taeyong shouts. 

“He has more fight in him than I would expect from a royal blood.” One of the men comments. A searing pain cuts through his leg. This is it, isn’t it? 

“Get off of me!” He shouts one more time. One of the men gets thrown off of him, collapsing onto the floor with a groan. The other still having a tight grip on his arm is almost funny in time. 

“Get off of him now.” Taeyong is turned around, an arm held tightly against his neck. In the gleaming light of the street lamps, Taeyong can't see Ten approaching. Not only was he going to die right here but it would be in front of his crush. For fuck's sake, he didn't deserve this. He can barely swallow the spit accumulating in his mouth with the amount of force pressing against his throat. 

“If you take one step closer, I'll stick this knife through his pretty little neck.” The man threatens. 

“I'm not going to tell you again. Let him go, now.” 

“Or what, pretty Prince?” The last thing that Taeyong can remember is Ten cocking his head to the side, a glint in his eyes. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This will probs be my last update in the next two weeks because I have exams on top of finals, so i hope that you enjoy.

“What the fuck?” Jaehyun asks when Ten bursts through the apartment doors holding a limp Taeyong in his arms, a darkness growing on his pants. The guys scatter to rush around him. 

“What the hell happened?!” Mark is next to chime in. 

“Get the salve and the first aid kit now! Also a pair of sweats. ” Ten orders placing Taeyong gently on the floor. Mark quickly follows his orders and runs to get the kit. 

Jaehyun asks, looking at the passed out Taeyong splayed on the floor. “Are you going to tell us what happened or what?” 

“There were men, regular old brutes that came after him.” Ten explains simply. 

“People are transcending to come after him?” Taeil blinks. 

“I don't know. They shouldn't even have the ability to transcend like that.” Ten carefully removes Taeyong’s jeans, where was Mark with the first aid kit? Mark returns, running down the stairs holding the kit, a purple vial, and sweats hanging around his neck. 

First things first, he needed to sanitize the wound. It wasn't too deep, he wouldn’t need stitches or anything, the salve should be more than enough. He carefully patches up Taeyong’s leg, wrapping it up neatly. He sets Taeyong carefully on the couch so that he can rest. 

“You have to tell him.” Jaehyun urges. 

“And then what? What happens after that?” Telling Taeyong the truth came with consequences that he wasn’t sure Taeyong would come to terms with. “You do realize that once he finds out the truth his entire scope of the world around him is going to be altered. Do you have any idea how that could affect him?” 

“Are you afraid to tell him for your own sake? Stop being absolutely ridiculous.” Mark rolls his eyes. 

“Don’t speak to the Prince like that.” Taeil scolds. 

“He’s one of my best friends, believe me, he will not be offended.” Mark scoffs, crossing his arms. “In the five years that I’ve known Taeyong, he’s become someone that I care about. I don’t like this one bit.” 

“I think that we should do whatever Ten wants.” Taeil inputs. 

“I think that you should grow a spine, Taeil.” Mark spits back.

“Listen don't go fighting each other,” Jaehyun says trying to calm the situation. “I agree with Mark. If people are going to start transcending and coming after him here, we should tell him.” 

“Tell me what?” Taeyong sits up with a groan. 

“Fuck.” They mutter in unison, turning to face the groggy boy. 

“How much of that did you hear?” The four men standing look between one another, How exactly do they go about handling this? If he heard too much there was no going back from here. 

“Something about transcending.” There’s a sigh of relief. Now they had a choice. Would telling Taeyong be worth it, or is keeping up the facade for quite a bit longer a better option? “How did you know where I was, Ten?” 

“Uh…” Ten buffers, searching for some sort of excuse. “Even though you told me that you didn't want me to walk you home, I followed you anyways because it was late.” Although a lie, it was safe to say. He could go either way with this depending on how Taeyong reacts. 

“Who would've known what would've happened to me had you not shown up.” They all knew what would've happened.  There would've been much more than just a gash on Taeyong’s thigh. 

“I'm going to tell him.” Ten decides. 

“Thank God.” Mark exhales.

“Tell me what?” Taeyong looks to Ten, then to his roommates. They all share a similar look of fear and uncertainty. 

“Do you want time alone?” Jaehyun questions. 

“That would be great.” Ten nods. Mark, Taeil, and Jaehyun disappear up the stairs.

“Why all the serious faces? You're not going to break up with me, are you?" Ten hates the vulnerable look in Taeyong's eyes right now. "We just started officially dating.” 

“No, I'm not breaking up with you. Although you may want to break up with me after I tell you what  about to tell you.” Ten prefaced. Those words scared him more than just being broken up with.

“You're not going to tell me you're like the heir of an infamous drug ring, are you?”

Ten chuckles, “No, no drug rings.”

“What is it then? Spit it out.” He was getting impatient and anxious.

“What I'm about to tell you may change the way you view life as you know it.”

“What are you talking about?” 

“You're not who you think you are. Or better yet, you're not what you think you are.” Ten extends his hand out to Taeyong, “Give me your hand.” Taeyong tentatively places his hand in Ten’s. Ten rotates Taeyong’s arm so that his birthmark is facing them. “Don’t be too surprised.” 

Nothing happens for a moment, and then Taeyong sees it. The colors dancing along his skin, the heat emanating from his arm. Pinks, blues, purples, and greens swirl up his wrists to his birthmark, filling it once again with color. 

“What the fuck?” Taeyong jerks his arm back. “What the fuck did you just do? What the fuck are you? How?” 

“I can explain, you just need to promise me that you're willing to listen to me.” 

“I don't need to promise you anything.” Taeyong gets defensive. Ten was scaring him, he could feel his heart thumping in his ears. 

“That's fair.” Ten sighs before starting. “You're not of this world. We're not from this world.”

“Then what fucking world am I from? I'm from right here in Seoul.” 

Ten shakes his head. “We're from Accacia. A realm that we must transcend to in order to reach.”

“And they,” He points in the direction of the stairs, “they know about this. Are whatever it is that you are?” 

Ten slowly nods. “They were sent here to protect you in a place where your parents could not.”

His parents? So even his parents weren't his own? “So what you mean to tell me that everything I've known up until this point has been a lie?” 

“I'm not discrediting any of the experiences you've had or the relationships you've formed. After all, the concept of family expands much farther than just blood.” What a diplomatic response. 

“Why?” 

“Why? As in why you? Well, this predates either of our births. I could explain but I think your parents would be better at doing so.” 

“What are you?” 

“I'm the Prince of Accacia.” 

“Why would a Prince of some mystical land be interested in me?” 

“You're my mate.” 

Taeyong throws his head back in a hearty laugh, “As in soulmate? You have got to be fucking kidding me.” 

“Not in the way that humans think of it. Our minds are connected, hence why I can do that with your mark. If you were trained you could even get to the point where we could send each other thoughts. Has there ever been a moment where you've heard voices in your head and you didn't know where they came from?” Taeyong can recall the voices well, it made him cry thinking that he was insane. His parents didn’t know how to help him but the noises came to an end within a week. “It was me when I was a child, learning the ropes. I wasn't supposed to because no one knew how it would affect you but let's just say that I never followed rules very well. It's more complicated than that but you'll learn in time.”

“I don't understand. If I'm your mate, why are you from there and I from here?” 

“Also complicated, but you are from there. From my understanding, you were sent here because of your family’s attachment to mine. Your actual parents were killed trying to protect you, so my parents sent you here in order to protect you.” 

“And now people are coming after me here?”  Ten nods slowly. Taeyong is beginning to understand now. “This is all because of you. If we had never met, people wouldn't know that I was here and I wouldn't be so confused.”

“I deserve all of your anger.” 

“Who the fuck are you?!” Taeyong leaps from the sofa, clutching his thigh. “Are you the guy that giggles at stupid puppy videos or are you some aristocrat?” 

“They're both parts of me. I know that this can be confusing but now that those sort of people know where you are, you aren't safe here.” 

“What do you want me to do? Abandon my entire life?” 

“I'm not going to tell you what to do, but staying here puts you in danger. I can't let anything happen to you.” 

“Then what? You'll take me by force?” 

“Of course not.” Ten sighs. “I suppose that I should give you time to think this over.” 

Taeyong chuckles bitterly, “So this is why you didn't want to sleep with me? Because you were hiding this?” 

“I would've told you earlier but I didn't know how you would react. I'm sorry.” 

“You can keep your apologies and choke on them.” Taeyong spits. 

 

“Don't even think about talking to me.” Taeyong storms past his suitemates the following morning. When he walks down the stairs they’re all crowded in the living room waiting for him to come down, and it feels suffocating. 

“We can't let you go out there alone.” Mark protests. 

“You can't let me take a shit on my own either now?” 

“It's for your safety.” It sounded robotic at this point and it annoyed him. 

“Safety my ass. How many of you are there?” 

“How many of us are what?” Jaehyun blinks like an idiot. 

“Watching me. How many of you are there watching me?”

“At least ten.” Taeil answers. 

“I thought that we were friends.” Taeyong clenches the strap of his bag, trying to calm his frustrations. He trusted these people but from the start, everything was a lie. 

“We  _ are _ friends. I know that the circumstances surrounding the foundation of our friendship is sketchy but the bonds we've formed are genuine.” Jaehyun says. 

“To be fair, I told Ten to tell you before you guys started messing around.” Mark truly near how to rub salt in his wounds. 

Taeyong scoffs, “Wow aren't you a fucking saint Mark?” 

“I know that you're mad at us right now and you have absolutely every right to be, but if anything happens to you we'll get in so much trouble, so regardless of what you want one of us is walking you to class.” 

“Fine. Taeil, you can follow me.” He'd be the least likely to try to strike up a conversation while he was upset. 

 

“Don't even act like you didn't know. Don't speak to me.” He declares to Johnny as he walks into class. If he could he would sit on the opposite side of the classroom but he himself knows how upset it makes him when someone takes his unofficial official seat. 

“Huh?” 

“Don't act like you don't know. I've known you the longest out of everyone here and that may be my biggest disappointment. Nine years. This is what nine years of friendship has amounted to?”   

“It's not my call on what to tell you or not tell you.” Taeyong appreciates the fact that Johnny isn't apologizing. “Everyone is just trying to do what's best for you.” 

“None of you know what's best for me.” 

“That may be true, but one thing we do know better than you is how to protect you from the people that will be coming after you.” Johnny taps his pen against the desk. 

“You guys are a bunch of assholes, do you know that?” 

“Maybe.” Johnny shrugs. “But, maybe you'll come to see it differently one day.” 

“Where is he?” Taeyong asks during lunch. He tried to hide away from them in a pretty secluded rooftop area in the Student Union but of course, they were able to find him with no issue. They sat in silence eating their lunch and it was killing Taeyong. It’s been a few days since he’s known the truth, and Taeyong was nowhere to be seen. Everyone else would barely speak a word to him.

“Where is who?” Taeil asks. 

“Please stop acting stupid. Where's Ten?” 

“I thought you said that you wanted space?” Johnny says.

“Clearly none of you guys have paid attention to that so what would make you think that anything would be different for him?” 

“He's at home. There's quite a bit of fallout there since people are transcending to try to kill you.” Mark says. Home. Taeyong assumes that Mark is speaking about that other world. 

“His parents want you to be brought back immediately but he's trying to fight them on that so that you can go when you want to. If you want to.” Jaehyun explains.  

“And what if I don't want to go?” He refuses to use the word back. This was home not wherever he was taken away from when he was a kid. 

“I'm sure that Ten will figure that out, but you certainly won't like whatever resolution they come to.” Mark answers.

“So you're going to make it so terrible that I'm going to want to go back?” 

“If the people coming to kill you isn't going to make you want to leave then I don't know what will.” Johnny says. 

“Believe it or not we're on your side here, especially Ten.” Jaehyun tries to assure him. He doesn't feel like any of them are on his side. He feels like a prisoner. 

“When is he coming back?” 

They all exchange looks before shrugging. “He could be here right now if you wanted him to be.” 

“I don’t want him to be.” 

“Then he will continue to not be here.” 

 

If Taeyong were being honest with himself, it was beginning to get pretty lonely. He's kept himself secluded in his bedroom because he can't stand when the other housemates whisper because he can't help but feel like they're speaking of something related to him. All of his closest friends had betrayed him in an essence and there weren't many other people he could talk to. Part of him, a very stupid part of him, missed and worried about Ten. A call, a simple call would fix any of his curiosities but Taeyong had his pride. 

His phone rings, snapping him out of his reverie. 

_ 10 <3  _

Of course, he knew the perfect time to call. Taeyong’s brain is screaming as his heart pulls the phone towards his ear with a quivering hand. Taeyong doesn't say anything, barely breathing into the receiver. There's silence on the other hand but he knows that Ten is there. Was this his own moment of weakness as it was for Taeyong?

“Taeyong.” Ten breathes. Taeyong doesn't respond. “I just needed to know that you were okay. I miss you.” Taeyong wasn't about to go admit that to him. No way. He hangs up the phone, throwing it towards the end of his bed. He was mad at Ten. He deserved to be mad. 

He's dialing back Ten’s number without thinking about it. Before Ten can get a word out, “You're there right?” 

“There where?” 

“Home. Your home home.” Taeyong clarifies.  

“Yes. I am there.” 

“That time when we um did the thing, were you home too?” 

“Yes. I was home then too.” Ten confirms what he had been assuming all this time. All of those times Ten was absent, he was back there. 

“Was any of it real? I don't know how any of that mate shit works, but were your feelings for me real?” He feels stupid for having to ask, but it's been plaguing his mind over and over.

“Of course!” Ten answers without missing a beat. “That isn't how the mates thing works.”

“How does it work then?” Taeyong is genuinely curious about it for what it’s worth. If this was something he’d have to deal with one way or another he’d like to know.  

“Being around each other makes us more powerful, figuring it out is complicated but It works. It has nothing to do with attraction towards one another at least not really. It draws us to one another but doesn’t make us love each other. Mates can be completely platonic.” He explains. 

“And I make you so powerful that people want to kill me for it?” 

“To put it simply, yes. Of course, the fact that I'm royalty adds to that equation. You come from a powerful lineage as well Taeyong.”  

“Please don't talk about my birth family, I don't want to.” That was a hurdle that ‘d wait the longest to face. 

“Okay…” 

“Your family wants me to go there.” He states but it comes out as more of a question. 

“Yes, they're eager to have you return.”

“Thank you for not letting them force me to go.” He never thought that he’d be able to feel grateful towards Ten in this situation.  

“I- no problem.” The silence drags on, filling Taeyong’s room. 

“I'm going to hang up now.”

“Okay. Have a good night.” 

“You too.” Taeyong bites his lip before ending the call. 

The words,  _ I miss you too, _ die on his lips.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi it's been about 3 weeks since I last updated rip. But I finished finals and have been home for about a week. Ya gurl is officially done with her 2nd year/last year of undergrad and is going to pharm school in the fall woot woot. 
> 
> Also, usually when updates take long it's because I get sidetracked and work on one-shots, so hopefully that can placate you when updates take longer than planned. 
> 
> Anyways thank you for all of the love and enjoy~

The next few weeks pass by smoothly. His anger began to fizzle out three weeks afterwards, he missed his friends and missed interacting with others. They never mentioned it again and went on with their lives. Ten hasn’t come back to school since, Taeyong isn’t quite sure how that works out for his grades but he’s assuming that they have something figured out. They’re relaxing on the couch watching a silly drama together, when a loud noise abruptly jolts them out of the drama trance. Taeyong shoots the other guys a look, they would know more about this than he would. They look just ask confused as Taeyong feels, and his heart begins to race. Another thud. 

“Call Ten now.” Mark orders him, jumping off the couch to look out the window. Jaehyun and Taeil move quickly following behind him. 

“What is happening?!” Taeyong doesn’t want to panic, panic wouldn’t help this situation. But his heart is beating through his chest cavity. Another crash. 

“Just call Ten!” Mark repeats. Taeyong shakily pulls out his phone, dialing Ten’s number. 

“How did they find the house?” Jaehyun asks, grabbing an umbrella from the rack. He clicks the umbrella on the ground, the umbrella transforming into a spear.  _ What the fuck?  _ Taeil pulls out a gun looking glowing thing from a drawer. Did they just have weapons lying around everywhere? 

“Hello?” Ten answers. 

“I don’t know what’s happening, but Mark told me to call you!” Ten shouts into the phone. “There are loud noises and they pulled out weapons, and I don’t know. I don’t know!” 

“Can you stay calm for me Taeyong?” Ten asks in a calm voice. 

“I can try?”  

“I’ll be there soon.” Their home is beginning to sound like a war zone. Taeyong doesn’t have a desire to look at what’s going on outside because he’s sure that he’ll shit his pants. 

“They haven’t broken through the barrier yet. Where the fuck is Johnny? And Lucas? And Haechan? Do they not realize what an emergency this situation is?” 

“Calm down Mark. They'll be here soon, it'll take these guys a while to get through the fortified field anyways.” Jaehyun attempts to keep Mark calm. 

“You guys just have weapons lying around the house?”

“Now is not the time Taeyong.” Mark and Jaehyun say in unison. 

“When is the time? You guys don't tell me anything!” 

“There's no point in telling you anything here because it only matters if you're in Accacia!” Mark shouts. “We can try to protect you as much as we want here but you'd be the most safe there. Things like this don't happen there! But no you want to be selfish and put a shit ton of people in danger by staying here!” 

“Mark!” Taeyong looks behind him for the source of the voice. Ten. Taeyong doesn't know if his eyes are tearing because he missed physically being near Ten or if it was a wash of relief to have him here. Maybe it was the shock of Mark shouting at him.

“You know it's true and you don't have the gall to tell him.”

“This isn't the time for this.” 

“Yeah because when is? If they're this close now, what's next? Taeyong getting stabbed? Poisoned? What is it going to take for you to make him want to go? Maybe when one of us die because we're not prepared for an attack?” Taeyong doesn't know how to respond to Mark’s anger. Out of everyone in their group, Mark tends to be the most level headed despite being the youngest in the group. He’s never actually seen Mark this upset before. 

“Mark, we can talk about this later.” 

“Whatever. I swear you people fucking coddle Taeyong like he’s a two year old.” Mark rolls his eyes before returning to look out the window. 

“Don't focus too hard on what Mark says.” Ten reassures Taeyong. 

Taeyong shakes his head. “He's right, I'm being selfish.”

“Johnny and Haechan are here, fighting outside.” Taeil alerts. “We should go out to help them, there seems to be six or seven assailants.” Mark didn’t need to be told twice, he was already out the door. Jaehyun followed closely behind, Taeil bowing to Ten before exiting, leaving the couple alone. 

“I’ll go with you.” 

“What?” Ten turns towards him uncertain if he had heard Taeyong’s words correctly. 

“I’ll go with you to Accacia or whatever the hell it’s called.” 

“Are you sure? This is a really big decision.” 

Taeyong shrugs, “I don’t know if I had much of a choice to begin with.” 

“We’ll talk about it later. What kind of leader would I be if I let them fight on their own?” Ten smiles brightly, as he always did. “On the off chance that someone gets in here, throw this at the ground in front of them.” Ten places a blue glowing orb in his hand. 

“What is it?” 

“Let’s hope that you don’t need to find out now.” Ten smiles one more time before heading outside. Left alone with his own mind, Taeyong felt like an action film was taking place right outside of his door. He can’t hear much besides the clashing of metal against each other, and he deliberately sat on the couch away from windows. 

It doesn't take more than five minutes for them to come back inside. Not so much a scratch on them, only their labored breaths were an indication that they were even in a battle. “Where's Mark?” Taeyong asks when Mark doesn’t follow the men through the door.  

“He was upset, so he went back first.” Jaehyun explains. Back, as in home home for them. 

“Is there anything that you want to bring there?” Johnny asks. Ten must have already informed them that Taeyong had decided to go.

“My body pillow? Clothes? My body wash? I don't know.” 

“Alright, we'll just pack a lot. Let's go.” The guys disappear up the stairs leaving Ten and Taeyong alone.

Ten breaks the silence, with a chuckle. “I must warn you that my parents will probably fawn over you so much that it will make you uncomfortable.” 

“I wouldn't have expected anything less.” Ten is hiding behind a smile, Taeyong had been around him long enough to be able to see behind the smile. He was worried about Taeyong, and Taeyong didn't know how to reassure him in this situation, he barely knows how to reassure himself.

“You know that you don't have to do this right?” 

“You know that that is as much of a lie as I do, right?” Taeyong says. “How do we do this thing? Transcending, is that what you guys called it? Do I have to say magic words or something?” 

Ten laughs sincerely this time, the wrinkling of his eyes told Taeyong that much. “It isn't magic. Or at least not in the way humans think about magic. But it is called transcending.” 

“Don't laugh at me! I'm inexperienced.” Taeyong huffs.

“Of course. It's never too late to learn. You can't transcend on your own, you don't know how. Take my hand.” When was the last time they had even touched? Weeks? Taeyong can't even remember. 

“This doesn't mean that I'm not upset with you anymore.” Taeyong declares before putting his hand in Ten’s.

“Of course. Prepare yourself to be greeted by a gaggle of people.” Taeyong half expects a tingling sensation or a flash of white light but as quickly as a blink Taeyong is no longer standing in the comfort of his living room. Ten wasn't kidding when he said that there would be a mass amount of people. 

“Oh my god, he's precious!” A woman squeals. Taeyong unconsciously pulls himself closer to Ten. Not that Ten was a good hiding spot, Ten stood shorter than him by a couple of centimeters but it didn’t matter much to him. 

“Mom, you're scaring him.” Mom? Taeyong blinks at the women before him. He could kind of see the resemblance between Ten and his mother, the bright eyes and the high nose. A gorgeous woman, as to be expected from a Queen. She was dressed fairly simply expect for the beads framing her face. 

“We would've prepared something grander had we known you'd be arriving today but on such a short notice this was the best we could do.” The best they could do? This was the most people he's we've seen expecting his arrival in his life. There were tens of people watching him. He recognizes his friends, dressed in a black uniform, but other than that it was a room of foreign faces. 

“You really didn't have to prepare anything at all.” 

“How modest of you. Truly sweety, this is nothing.”

“Welcome home.” A man who he assumes is Ten’s father greets him. The man is on the taller side, clearly Ten did not get his height from him. The man was beginning to gray but it did not detract from his handsome features. 

_ Home. _ The idea of this being “home” was bizzare to him. Taeyong doesn't think that he'll ever be able to call this place home. The more they mention it, the more he feels as if he'd never relate to the feeling. 

“I told you guys not to do anything.” Ten scolds. Taeyong hasn't even noticed that he was gripping tightly into Ten’s hand until he spoke again. He quickly released, clasping his hands in front of him. “We couldn't have done nothing when your mate has returned after such a great absence.” 

“Please just refer to him as Taeyong. Should I take you to your room? I'm sure that this is a lot to take in.” Ten says to him. 

“That would be great.” 

As soon as they were about of the room, Taeyong asks.”Why is your hair grey? Why was Jaehyun and Mark’s hair blonde?”

“I should warn you right now that your hair is sort of a dusty rose color.” 

“Why?” 

“I don't want to call it your true form because that sounds like some stupid anime shit but it's how we were born. You can obviously alter it if you want but if you were to transcend back into the human world, your hair would be black again.”

“What the hell?” 

“There's a lot to learn. But you'll get it in time.” 

This place was what fairy tales were describing. Extraordinarily high ceilings with gold lining the walls. Taeyong was surprised that there weren't  gigantic portraits of the royal family hanging on the walls. Instead some art is displayed on the walls. 

Ten cokes to a stop, “This is your room to the left and my room is right across from yours.” 

“Was that done on purpose?”

“My parents don't know that we're romantically involved. It's for comfort reasons.” 

“Is there a reason why they don't know? Please don't tell me homophobia exists here too.” 

“On the contrary, my parents would be absolutely elated to know. I didn't know the state of our relationship after I told you the truth so I didn't mention it.”

“I don't know either.” Taeyong sighs. He supposes that they were still dating, they never spoke about it after that day of establishing it.

“There will be a dinner later tonight that I hope that you will go to.” 

“More awkward fawning will ensue?”

Ten nods, “Without a doubt.”

“Absolutely perfect.” Taeyong rolls his eyes.

“You don't have to go if you don't want to.” 

“Would that not be insulting to the King and Queen?” 

“My parents aren't nearly that stuffy. They won't have your head or anything. Maybe they'll be disappointed that you're not embracing this in stride but you'll come around as will they.”

“What do I even call them? Your highness? King? Queen? Your majesty?” 

“Uh, your majesty always works?” 

“Where are you heading?” 

“To talk to my parents. Do you want me to send one of the guys to keep you company?” 

“No it’s fine.” 

“I’ll come for you in maybe around an hour? If you need me before then, there’s a watch on your bed from which you can call me. Your phone won’t work here.” 

“But we talked while you were here.” 

“I have special devices, we’ll get you some of those as quickly as we can.” 

“More things that I need to learn?” 

“Always.” Ten watches Taeyong enter the room before going on his way. His room felt larger than his entire home. Johnny brought up his entire bedroom it seems all the way down to his posters. He refuses to look at himself in the mirror for too long, the pink hair was something that would need getting used to. The box containing the watch is perfectly placed on his pillow. Taeyong lifts up the box toying with it between his fingers before jumping on the bed. _So this is what royalty feels like?_ He thinks as he falls into the plush comfort of the bed. He could get used to this. 

 

“Taeyong.” When Ten arrives at Taeyong’s room an hour later as promised, he finds the older man resting comfortably in the bed. Part of him is completely overjoyed that Taeyong is now here in the safety of the palace. Part of him is filled with utter anxiety, wondering if Taeyong would be able to properly acclimate to this new environment. 

“Taeyong.” He repeats, this time it earns him a groan from the sleeping man. “Taeyong, it’s time for dinner.” His eyes flutter open, meeting Ten’s dark eyes. 

“I fell asleep?” 

“It seems so.” Ten is dressed differently than he was earlier. A loose dress shift replaced the simple T-shirt he was in before. “Are you ready to go? Do you want to change before we head out?” 

“Should I?” 

Ten shrugs, “It's up to you.”

“Then I won't.” He didn't have anyone to necessarily impress. “This is a good look on you.” 

“Ah, thanks. Some of my less formal wear.”

“Am I going to have to start dressing like that too?” 

“We're not holding you hostage Taeyong.” Ten laughs. “You're free to do whatever you want within reason of course.” 

“Right.” There was no way he believed that but it's fine.

“Do you want a tour of the palace later?” 

“Maybe. If I'm feeling up to it.” 

They enter the dining hall and he already feels awkward. His friends, can be even call them his friends, are sitting at the table along with the King and Queen. When they notice the pair, the boys ride from their seats immediately. They're out of their uniforms now, in much more casual attire, but there are more men in uniform standing around the room.

“Please don't do that.” Ten says. They sit in a fashion where Ten is on his right and Jaehyun is on his left. The king and queen are sitting opposite to him and he feels watched. 

“I hope you don't mind. We invited your friends in the hopes that it would make you feel more comfortable.” Ten's Mom says. 

“I wouldn't say that we're on the best of terms right now.” Taeyong admits. They’re not even meeting each other’s eyes. 

“It’s my fault mostly.” Mark says at the end of the table. 

“Don’t go blaming yourself, Mark.” Johnny pipes up. 

“We apologize for having the boys deceive you for so long.” The king seems sincere enough. 

“I get that my protection is important or whatever but why now? You could've continued to play this charade forever. Why now?” 

“As I'm sure Ten has told you, the birthmark on your wrist connects you two in a way that cannot be explained effectively enough.” Ten’s mother begins. “When you were born, your parents were absolutely elated that you beared a mark that so few do.”

“Your parents were really good people. Some of the most trustworthy people I've ever met.” The king adds and Taeyong doesn't know how to feel. The only parents he’s ever known have always been good to him, but he knows that they aren’t talking about them at this moment. 

“When Ten was born a year or so later, your mark glowed. After running a few tests, it was determined that you two were mates. Ten can explain that to you in detail later.” Taeyong glances over at Ten, who looked just as uncomfortable as Taeyong felt. 

“Both your parents and us believed that it would be safer for you to be in hiding because as the mate of a future King, there is power to be held there. So your parents moved to the countryside with a brigade of guards in tow.” 

“But things went wrong.” Taeyong says. 

“Yes, things went very wrong.” The King confirms with a nod. “Your home was attacked and the only people that made it out alive were you and the people you now know as you parents.” 

“We then decided that the best thing to do for your protection was to send you to the human world because at that point transcending was something that only nobility could do freely, but it appears that things have changed. Which is why you are now here because it is the safest to be in the palace.” 

“Who is coming after me?” 

“There can be a number of people behind this. As royalty not everyone I always satisfied with how things are run within the kingdom.” 

“We assure you that we will do everything within our power to keep you safe.” He doesn't know whether to say thank you so he stays silent instead. 

“Can I be honest?” Taeyong asks tentatively.

“Of course!” 

“I'm not quite sure what you all expect from me and I don't think I can deliver on that whatever it is you think I can either. I'm not, I can't live up to any imagine you have of me.”

“Oh honey, you don't have to do anything. You just have to stay by Ten’s side.” 

“Do you not realize how great of a burden that is to put on someone?” A bit of his frustration seeps out. 

“Mom, dad, Taeyong isn't accustom to these things.” Ten chimes in. 

“I know that it seems like a lot, so much. Let me tell you guys a story.” The queen looks at her husband with a faint smile. “When I was in my teens, men came to my home telling me that I was the mate of the future King. I came from a poor family that couldn't afford the testing regardless of my mark. I didn't believe them and I refused to go with them no matter how many times they came to my doorstep.” 

“And believe me they went dozens of times.” The king laughs, looking at his wife with fondness. 

“Then one day there was a knock on my door and I was already preparing myself to reject them again. But instead of a gang of man, there stood the Prince. My legs felt like they were melting not only because he was handsome but because my mark is on my leg. Still I rejected him, because I didn't want to leave my life. But after we met, I began to yearn to see him almost as if my heart was being tugged towards his direction. Eventually it made me almost sickly to be away from him and on the fifth time that he came to my door, I decided to go with him. You’re going to want to be around Ten as Ten will want to be around you.” 

“You never told me that story before.” Ten says. 

“I’ve never needed to.” His mom responds. “I don’t know if that helped soothe you in any way Taeyong, but I hope that you will come to enjoy your stay here.” 

The rest of the dinner is awkward. The rest of them are like a family while Taeyong feels like an outsider. He didn't understand the jokes. The normally funny childhood stories that they told barely managed to get the corners of his lips to turn upward. He hates this. He doesn't even know why he hates it so much. 

They tried so hard to appeal to Taeyong, preparing his favorite foods. But it only served to make him hate the experience more. Of course they would've known all of his favorite things. He’s sure that his parents have been funneling information to them over the years. No one here seemed to find it bizarre that they knew more about Taeyong than Taeyong knew himself. And it had him bubbling with frustration. 

Ten places a hand on his thigh, Taeyong’s eyes jolt to Ten’s. Taeyong can't place the look on Ten’s face but it puts his heart at ease. 

“How does the whole mind reading thing work?” Taeyong asks as Ten walks him back to his room. 

Ten chuckles. “It isn't mind reading.”

“Then what is it?” 

“It’s more of an energy thing. Hm, well we can feel when the other is distressed or however the fuck they're feeling. And then we can speak to each other in our minds. But of course that's only if you've kept that on, yours just never happened to be turned off ever.” 

“So this entire time you’ve just been feeling everything that I do?” 

“No. I usually can ignore it unless you’re distressed and then it’s just like a beacon in my brain.” 

“So, I'll be able to know how you're feeling soon enough?” 

“In theory yes, but I keep mine turned off.”  

Taeyong pouts, “Well that's no fun.” 

“I'm sure I'll turn it on for you to practice or something.”

“That's boring. You get all of these cool perks and I get nothing.” 

“As soon as you start learning you can have these perks too. We also need to give you defense training.” 

“Do I get a fucking spear too?” He’d look badass with a spear.  

“You can if you want to. Like I said, it’s an energy thing. So the weapons channel your energy into one object. Weapons are just an addition, you need the basics first.” 

“Do you fight with a weapon?” 

Ten holds up his wrist with the band of glowing orbs, “I use these but the hope is that the guards prevent things from going that far in the first place.”

“Right, princes shouldn't have to defend themselves.” 

“Neither should you, but in theory as you've seen, it is easier to get to you than it is to get to me.” 

“How wonderful.” Taeyong says sarcastically. 

“You don't have to worry though. You've got me and NCT to protect you.” 

“NCT?”

“Novel Concealed Troop. It's the name for what Johnny, Jaehyun and all of them are.” 

“That's a terrible name.” 

“Hey, I named it when I was a kid. Don't blame me. We used to joke that NCT stood for ‘Not cool Ten’ because I was quite the rebellious kid.” 

“I wish I was shocked by that, but I'm not.” Ten loved to challenge authority and going against the grain. He was bound to cause trouble every now and again. 

“Hey, what is that supposed to mean? I've got it under control now for the most part.” 

“Right, as if tattoos and nipple piercings are an indicator of being a pinnacle of society.” 

“Believe it or not tattoos and piercings are very culturally acceptable here. Expressing oneself is highly encouraged. Although it did give my parents quite the shock. Something about it not being princely,” They're back in front of their rooms before Taeyong knows it. They stand there for a few awkward seconds, Taeyong bouncing on the balls of his feet, Ten shifting his gaze around the hall. 

“Do you want to go on a tour of the palace tomorrow? It’s been quite a long day.” Ten fills the air with the question.

“Uh sure?” 

“I have some duties to tend to in the morning, but I'll come by the get you around noon?” Taeyong nods in confirmation. “Well if you need anything, I'm quite literally right across the hall.” 

“This feels like the end of a date in junior high. I hate it and you can't kiss me goodnight.” Taeyong turns on his heels reaching for the doorknob. 

Ten go as his usual breathless laugh. “Good night Taeyong.” 

“Good night.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading!~


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah this chapter took longer than I expected it to. Sorry!

“He kinda looks like an imp.” The noises stir Taeyong from his sleep. 

“Maybe more like a sprite. He's not as devilish looking as most imps.”

When Taeyong’s eyes flutter open, he's met with two foreign faces. He feels like a specimen underneath a microscope. Even with his eyes open, the men don't back away, just returning Taeyong’s confused look back at him. 

“He has big bug eyes doesn't he?” The one with shorter hair says, looking over at the mauve haired one. Insults first thing in the morning wasn’t abnormal considering the people he lived with, but insults by strangers certainly were annoying. 

“Who the fuck are you?” 

“And a potty mouth apparently.” They step back allowing Taeyong to sit up. They don’t say anything, just silently watch Taeyong assess the situation. Was this a normal thing to do here? Invade personal space? Maybe he could speak to Ten about getting that fixed. 

“Again, I ask who are you and what are you doing in my room?” 

“Kim Kibum, noble representative of the Gadeux region of Accacia.” The man with the shorter hair says. 

“Lee Taemin, noble representative of the Vey region of Accacia. Call me Key though.” The other man introduces. 

“And what are you doing in my room?” It seemed that people here had difficulty understanding personal boundaries. 

“Ten said that his mate was here and we wanted to see you.” The Taemin guy says simply. Of course, the title of Ten’s Mate would proceed him wherever he went. He wasn’t just Taeyong anymore, he was Ten’s “soulmate.” The idea made his skin crawl, being eternally bound to a person because of what the cosmos decided? 

The other, Key, rolls his eyes, “Sure there is that, but Ten is going to be on broadcast soon and we thought that maybe you would want to see.” 

“A broadcast?” 

“They're planning to speak to the entire kingdom about the recent attacks.” So that was the duty that Ten was talking about. Something like that must be so commonplace for the Prince, that they seemed like basic duties. 

“Oh,” Taeyong says with a nod. “I guess.” 

“Where's the remote?” Taemin asks aloud, probably not expecting Taeyong to know the answer.

“Try the nightstand drawer?” Kibum suggests. 

Taemin walks to the drawer like Kibum says producing the remote. “You're a genius.” 

“How'd you end up with such a genius as a mate?” Kibum jokes. Taeyong feels like he's interrupting something when Taemin wraps his arms around Kibum’s waist, placing a kiss on his cheek. 

“You two are mates?” Taeyong asks tentatively. 

The pair turns to each other with stupid grins on their face. They were certainly in love that much Taeyong could tell. Disgusting. Since when did love make him feel so bitter? Key shakes his head with a pout.  “No. Not officially at least. Maybe in the human sense of the word soulmate.”

“Oh.” Taeyong deflates a bit. It would be intriguing to meeting another mated couple. 

“We're organic. All I know is that he loves me and I love him and no matemark is going to stop that.” Kibum seems confident, grabbing Taemin’s hand in his and intertwining his fingers. “Organic”, that was an interesting term to use for the prospect of falling in love “naturally” despite everyone’s insistence that the mate bond doesn’t force loving emotions towards one another. As if their love will naturally have an expiration date as opposed to a mate bond. Taemin clicks something on the remote, a screen descends from the ceiling. 

“The idea of a mate must be confusing to you.” Kibum says. 

“You guys can sit on the bed, it feels like you're examining me when you just stand there.” 

“I thought you'd never ask.” Taemin quickly takes a seat, pulling Kibum down with him. They were really beautiful people, Taeyong has never seen anyone like them before. Their skin was practically glowing. Kibum’s ears ended in a point and his eyes were feline like giving him an elf-like appearance. Taemin looked less eclectic, he would be able to blend flawlessly in Seoul. He would still stand out for his flawless appearance though.  

“Ten says that mates can be platonic is that true?” 

Taemin and Kibum exchange looks before Kibum takes the lead to reply. “It happens but it's not common.” 

“Why is that?” 

The question forces a pensive look on Kibum’s face. It takes him a moment before he decides to respond. “There are things with that comes with a matemark that physiologically draw you two together, that makes you want to be near each other. And it's just easier to do that when you're romantically involved.” 

“Most people that I know that are mates but aren't romantically involved are like next door neighbors or something like that.” Taemin adds. 

“Mates are rare in the first place, not everyone gets a mark. And not everyone that has a mark finds their mate either. Of course, there's death, your mark turns grey after that.” Taeyong wonders then why his mark had turn grey, he’d have to ask Ten about it later. 

“And then there are poor people with mates that never end up finding each other. The whole longing thing doesn't happen until contact is made.” Kibum further explains. 

“It's pretty boring if you ask me,” Taemin says with a shrug. Taeyong didn't find it boring, more like confusing. 

Kibum shrugs, “If you or Ten started seeing people it's not like you guys would be in pain or anything.” The screen crackles before a video feed is displayed on it, catching their attention. 

The King is standing at a podium, the Queen and Ten at his side. Taeyong has never seen Ten look this serious before, his lips drawn into a tight line and his face stoic. He's wearing black formal attire, rightly fit for a Prince with gold accents decorating the shoulders and lapels. 

“We're here today to address the recent attacks occurring within the kingdom and beyond our walls.” This seems more like a press conference than a King talking to his people, but Taeyong supposes that those two things were essentially the same. A person with influence speaking to those willing to listen. 

The King goes on to detail the various attacks that have gone on, skimming over the attacks that happened on Taeyong. He doesn't say much about who they think did it, and Taeyong wonders whether that was the truth or a political ploy to assure his citizens. 

“Your Prince has a few words to say.” The King makes way for Ten to take the podium. 

“Good morning,” Ten coughs, clearing his throat. It could easily be perceived as nerves, but Ten looks to be in his element. “It is not often that I get to speak to you all in this manner.” 

“Can you believe that goofy kid grew up to be this person?” Taemin asks rhetorically to Kibum. 

“You used to be a goofy kid too and look at how you turned out.” Key jokes, playfully pushing at Taemin’s shoulder. 

“The recent attacks have been a source of anxiety for many including myself. The attacks have transcended into the human realm and that is taking it too far.” The human realm? He would have to ask Ten later about transcending in detail. He isn't quite sure where this is in relation to Earth. “These otherworldly attacks have targeted my mate.” There's an audible gasp from within the press audience. 

“Why are they gasping?” Taeyong asks the two lovers. It made it seem like Ten committed a grave sin. 

“Well, we've kept your entire existence a secret for your safety so people are shocked he has a mate.” Great. Not only was his the infamous mate but he was also a secret lover. Taeyong had never considered himself lucky in his life, and it doesn’t appear that he’d begin to any time soon. 

“Then how did whoever they are they find me?” 

“That brings up the question as to whether there's a leak in the court.” 

Ten continues, the gasps not breaking his concentration. “With that in mind, I want to assure you all that we will do anything within our power to catch these criminals. Thank you for your patience and time this morning.” Ten ends with a bow, the screen cuts out again. 

“Are you hungry Taeyong?” Kibum returns his attention to Taeyong. “We can call you so breakfast or we can bring you to dining.” 

“I'm okay.” Taeyong shakes his hand. 

“Well, Kibum and I have some business to attend to, so we'll see you around then.” 

“Yeah, see you.” Taemin and Kibum leave with a wave. Taeyong decides then that he needed a shower. He felt kind of grimy. Maybe he’d be able to burn away his existence if he turns the water up hot enough.   

There’s a knock on his door as he’s getting dressed. “One second.” Taeyong quickly throws on one of his shirts that he found in the closet. “You can come in.” 

Ten enters the room still dressed in the same clothes he wore for the broadcast. The all black attire made him look taller and almost intimidating.  “You’re finding everything okay?” 

“Yeah, it’s okay.” Taeyong shakes his hair, hoping the shake out the remainder of the water in his hair. 

“Have you done anything interesting this morning?” 

“I don’t know what interesting things there are to do here.” Taeyong says. “I did meet Kibum and Taemin though.” 

Ten blinks at him, surprised. “How’d you meet them? They didn’t mention it when we met earlier.” 

“They were in my room when I woke up earlier.”  

Ten makes a face, “As if that’s not weird or anything.” 

“That’s exactly what I said! They seem harmless enough though.” 

“They’re nice guys.” Taeyong would have to agree. “Are you ready for the tour?”  

“I guess.” Taeyong shrugs. He supposes that he’ll be here for quite a while so he may as well know the place. 

The first place that Ten decided to show the older man was the kitchen. It was purely out of selfish reasons, he was starving and wanted to grab a pastry. 

“This is the kitchen where the best cooks in all of the kingdom work, I might be biased. But really the food is delicious.” Every person they pass by greets Ten with a bow and Ten returns it with a smile. Taeyong isn’t quite sure what characteristics make an effective leader, but he’s sure that Ten’s kindness could take him a long way. “At any time of day, there are snacks and stuff available for anyone to eat. I haven't eaten all morning, so that's what I'm gonna do.” 

There's a varying selection of food laid out on the counter and Ten picks up a small bite and throws it in his mouth. “Do you want anything? I would recommend the quiche-like thing. It has a special ingredient called faran that makes it delicious.” Ten holds out the miniature cup for Taeyong to take a bite but instead, Taeyong takes it with his hand. 

“So this is the mate?” A woman walks toward them holding another tray of food in her hands. With the apron wrapped around her waist, Taeyong assumes she’s a cook here.

“Yes. Taeyong meet Juli, sous chef.” 

“Hi.” Taeyong smiles awkwardly with food in his mouth. 

“He's quite a looker isn't he?” She has an accent differing from Ten’s. Taeyong doesn't know how vast this kingdom is or about the lands that expand past it but she doesn't seem to be from here. “If there's anything you're craving let me know. They didn't send some of us to Michelin star restaurants for nothing.” Taeyong nods. “You don't speak much do you?” 

“Not when I don't know what to say.” He doesn't feel all that quite comfortable near strangers that know more about him than average. 

“Well, Ten here talks a mile a minute so make sure to keep up or he'll wear you down.” She jokes. 

“Juli has been working here as long as I can remember.” Ten mentions. Taeyong doesn't know how to respond so he just nods. “We should get going, I'm giving Taeyong a tour of the palace.”

“Have fun you two!” Juli waves them off. 

Ten shows his every corner of the Palace, introducing him to every person that they happen to cross paths with. It was exhausting to have to keep a smile on his face. The palace garden was serene. The library with books lining every wall was overwhelming with history. The dance studio that they built just for Ten was outstanding. It was quite frankly overwhelming. It’s an absolute miracle that Ten didn’t end up being some haughty asshole.  

“And this is the in-house training ground.” They're a floor up from where there are multiple boys sparing with one another. It was exactly like those FBI training facilities that Taeyong always saw on TV. Stark white walls with bits of silver equipment lining the walls. If they walked a little further they could go to the stairwell to head down to the mats. “These are the Dreamies.” 

The boys were sparring but it looked like they were just playing around with each other. Just kids being kids. “They look kinda young.” Maybe it had to do with the altitude they were at but they looked small. 

“That's because they are, the youngest one is turning sixteen. They're all children of senior guards.”

“Is that how it works here?” 

“There are a couple of ways to become a guard. Just because they train doesn't guarantee them a spot on the force.” 

“Is that how Mark and them became guards?” Every question that Ten answered only made Taeyong want to ask more questions. 

Ten looks at the kids with a soft smile, a fondness that Taeyong has never seen in his face before. “Some of them. Mark and Johnny were born into it like these kids. And Taeil and Jaehyun signed up for recruitment at the earliest age, sixteen.” 

“I can't see Taeil signing up for something like this. He's quite timid, isn't he?” Ten turns his face towards Taeyong, amused by the other boys thoughts. 

Ten shrugs, looking back down at the boys sparing. “Sometimes recruitment can be more of an escape than the desire to serve the crown.” 

“Is that what happened with Taeil? He was running away?” 

“You should ask him yourself. In fact, you should really talk to them. If there's anyone you should be mad at it's me.” 

Taeyong huffs, crossing his arms in front of him, “Believe me, I am.” 

“Jaemin!” Ten calls with a wave. The six boys look over in their direction, scrambling to stand up straight before bowing. 

“Doesn't that get uncomfortable?” Taeyong asks. All the bowing, all of the formalities, it was too much for Taeyong.  

“You get used to it. Plus they only do it because they're eager to please, most people stop eventually.” Taeyong doesn't see himself ever getting used to it. “You guys don't have to bow. How is your back doing?” 

“Good! Thanks for asking!” The boy smiles back brightly, blinking a thousand times a minute. 

The lanky pale boy with dark hair beside Jaemin whispers to another, earning him a slap on the shoulder. They exchange a few rushed words, but the boy speaks anyways. “Is that your mate?” 

“Chenle!” The boys shriek, hitting Chenle again. 

The boy withstands the slaps well, swatting them off. “What? You guys are curious too!” 

“You can’t just ask about it though! That’s rude!” The tanned one with the orange hair scolds. 

“You guys wouldn’t have asked otherwise! I get things done.” Chenle’s statement makes Ten chuckle. 

“His name is Taeyong.” Ten answers. 

Chenle shakes his head in distaste, “You guys would be nothing without me.” 

“Wow! He's really pretty!” 

“You're so lucky!” 

“Prince Ten is really kind!” Their comments make him feel slightly uncomfortable. He’s been smiling and nodding his way through this entire experience and this moment would be no different.  

“He’s the coolest guy in all the land!” 

“Wow, it’s almost like I’ve conned you guys into giving me compliments.” Ten’s eyes crinkle into a smile. Ten really seems to like these kids. 

“We’re experts at roasting too if you’re into that.” 

“Yeah,” The tanned one pipes up, “Renjun is better at it than actual fighting.” The kid that Taeyong can only assume is Renjun moves to wrap an arm around the tanned kid’s neck. 

“I swear to you Haechan, I will kick your ass.” He threatens. The other boys laugh, amused by the sight in front of them. They really were just kids. 

“Okay, okay.” Haechan wheezes, clawing against Renjun’s arm. “I surrender, I get it.”

“Make sure you guys don’t kill each other before graduation.” Ten chuckles, turning to Taeyong before announcing their leave. “Well, we're going to go. Continue on.” 

Taeyong asks as they walk back from where they came, “Are you in my head right now?” 

“I can't exactly help it when alarming feelings pop up.” 

“The first thing you need to do is teach me how to shut that shit off,” Taeyong says. “Speaking of which, am I even allowed to curse here?” 

“Do what you want.” Ten shrugs. “You aren't going out for all the public eye to see you yet.”

“Yet?” Dread fills the depths of his stomach. He’s sure that Ten can feel that too. 

“Let's say that we get married later on, you'll be King and therefore would have to lead with me.” Ten lays out the options. “On the other hand, let's say we don't. Chances are you and whomever you choose to court with will probably live on Palace grounds so that you're always within close proximity of me. And if that's the case, you'd have to travel with me and sooner or later the people will be curious and I'd have to explain who you are.”

“And those are my only two options?” To be King or to be a glorified call girl for some mystical juju. 

“Not exactly. But almost all of the other options right now ends with you in harm's way and I can't let anything happen to you out of purely selfish reasons.” 

“This is so fucked up.” Taeyong laughs bitterly.

“I'm sorry.” 

“Stop apologizing for the world royally fucking me up.” The world screwed Ten over too. 

“There's one last place I want to show you but I think that it might freak you out.” 

“Why is that?” 

“I guess it's better to show you than to tell you.” Ten leads him further past the training facility, down a secluded hallway. Past a door that required Ten’s fingerprint ID and down a bit more to be faced with one last door. 

“I'm sorry if this creeps you out but it's important that I stay as transparent with you as I can.” 

“Okay… Can you just open the door?” Ten sighs before inputting the final code. 

The door slides open and Taeyong’s heart drops to the soles of his shoes. “What the fuck?” He breathes.

Along the walls are screens displaying images detailing his entire life. From the picture, his parents took when he was first learning how to swim with arm floaties. To his elementary school production of Beauty and the Beast - He made a kickass Lumiere. To the time his middle school soccer team lost in the championship so he sobbed in the middle of the field. To his high school graduation, a picture with Johnny with their bright red uniform and enthusiastic smile to match. Everything about him was right in front of him. 

“All of these years, this is how my parents have kept up with you all of these years. Your parents have been sending information back here so that we were kept updated.” Ten explains. “I wasn't allowed to come here until I was sixteen. I knew that you existed but my parents wouldn't let me see you in an effort to thwart me from going to seek you out.” 

“Well, clearly that didn't work so what happened?” Taeyong takes a tentative step forward. Seeing your entire life displayed before you was bizarre. He doesn't even remember dropping that bag of confectioners sugar on the ground when he was evidently four. 

Ten cocks his head to the side, stretching out his neck. “Well, there was Mark and Johnny. They're more loyal to me than to my parents because we've practically grown up together. They would always tell me about to and it made me exceptionally curious about you and what it would mean to meet you.” 

Ten continues a bit hesitant with his words, “You are a dancer like myself. You can cook really well, I am never ever allowed to cook. You are an exceptionally determined person that cares infinitely about the people around you. Johnny told me about your first date, first girlfriend, first boyfriend and everything in between. All I ever knew of you was what others had to tell me and at some point that got annoying to me.”

“So without my parents' permission, I went there and you know how the rest turned out. In that short amount of time, I learned more about you than the guys could've ever told me. Like the sound of your laugh. You tend to get breathy from the back of your throat when something genuinely makes you laugh. You cook because you enjoy the satisfied look on your friend's faces. Your eyes get wider and more round whenever you're surprised. The peaceful look on your face when you fall asleep and the little smile when you first wake up.” 

“Okay, I get it. You're embarrassing me.” One picture stands out in particular to him. A baby whom he assumes is himself, is cradled in the arms of two people that don't have a place in Taeyong’s mind.  “Are these my parents?” Ten nods. 

The picture is not of the best quality but he can make out enough. The woman's hair was a pink similar to his own. The smile on her face as she looked at the baby in her arms was indescribable. The man is bursting with pride looking at his wife and child. 

“I'm sure that my parents have more pictures of them if you would like to see them.” 

“I don't want to. At least not now.” He wasn't ready for that yet.

“That is also fine.” Ten assures him. 

“Can get out of here please?” The more he stays in the room the more suffocated he feels within his own skin. The last time he remembers feeling this way was right before a major presentation in high school that drove him into a panic attack. 

Ten slides his hand into Taeyong’s, giving him a reassuring squeeze. Taeyong can feel his anxiety ebbing away from him the moment Ten’s skin touches his own. Taeyong hates feeling so dependent on Ten, but he can’t deny the gratifying feeling that comes with being able to feel at peace this easily. 

“Well, that's the end of the tour of the official part of the castle.” They’re back at Taeyong’s door, having walked hand in hand the entire way back. “All of my favorite parts are unofficial.”

“And when do I get to see those?” 

Ten hums, “After you learn basic training and per your request the block thing. By the way, you start training tomorrow. There should be training garments somewhere in a drawer in your room or wear your own clothes, it doesn't matter.” 

“What? Tomorrow? I've only been here a day and a half.” 

“We need you to be able to defend yourself enough to give enough time for other people more experienced to come to help you.”

“So deflect not defend? Got it.” Taeyong nods, eliciting a chuckle from Ten. “What?” 

“I just never thought that I’d be able to see you here. You astound me.” 

“Right,” Taeyong peels his hand away from Ten’s, “I'm gonna go.” 

“See you first thing in the morning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the time that I've been away, I've written two drabbles if ya wanna check those out. 
> 
> I start working for the summer next week, so I can't guarantee constant updates because I'll be working thirteen hours a day. So sorry in advance for that, but thank you for reading. and for the kudos and the comments. They make my day.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wah it's been too long my apologize! If there are any mistakes it's because this is very un-beta'd

“If you had told me Johnny would be my instructor, I would have refused.” Taeyong’s arms are crossed in front of him and he hopes that the two men can feel the disdain seeping from his pores.

Johnny finishes stretching his arms out, “Well, you could learn from me or you can learn from the people that taught me who will be so much more harsh on you.” 

“Seriously, Johnny is one of the best our age. If you don't learn from him, you'll need to learn from stuffy elders.” Ten says, and it takes everything within Taeyong to not throw daggers at him with his eyes. Maybe Ten would be able to feel the murderous vibes steaming from him through their bond. 

“Besides if you're still mad at me, you can release some pent up aggression. That is if you can hit me.” Johnny challenges, with a shrug. 

“That's it? You want me to hit you?” These people must not take him seriously at all. How hard could it possibly be? He'd hit Johnny plenty of times before without putting a single thought into it, this couldn't be too hard. 

There’s an amused look on Johnny’s face as if he could already ready the thoughts running through Taeyong’s mind. “Might sound like an easy task, but trust me it won't be.” 

Taeyong looks over at Ten from where he’s standing on the balcony, “I thought that I was supposed to learn defense?” 

Johnny answers despite not being the one questioned, “Sure, but I need a gauge of your basic abilities.”

“Easy, I have no basic abilities.” 

“You'd be surprised what comes out when you're in a state of emergency. Hit me.” Taeyong strikes as asked, hitting the air where Johnny’s body used to be.”You're really going to have to try harder than that.” 

Taeyong takes aim again, Johnny shifting on the balls of his heels avoiding him. “Are you taunting me?” Taeyong had learned that Johnny was fantastic at taunting people over the course of their friendship. It had gotten him into a handful of fights during school because he didn't know when to stop. 

“The people coming after you have absolutely nothing to lose. They will throw low blows, they will threaten those you care about, anything.” There was no doubt that Johnny was better versed in this situation that Taeyong was, but there was no part of him that wanted to listen to a single thing that Johnny had to say.

“Well, it's a good thing that I've got nothing to care about.” He tries again this time aiming for Johnny’s chest. For a guy as tall as Johnny was, he was surprisingly nimble. Or maybe Taeyong provided so little of a challenge that this was like flicking a bug off of his shoulder. 

Every punch that Taeyong threw was futile, wearing him out, laboring his breath. “These people aren't coming after you just to hurt you. They're doing it to hurt Ten and the crown.”

The crown, the crown, that’s all he ever spoke about. Every hit Johnny dodged with that know-it-all smile fueled Taeyong’s annoyance. “Is all you care about the fucking crown?” 

“Well I did pledge my allegiance to it so on my list of priorities it's quite high.”  God, he'd do anything to knock that smile off of Johnny’s face.

“Of course it is, that's why you shat on nine years of friendship like it was nothing?” Taeyong’s words throw Johnny off. His eyebrows furrow ever so slightly, but he recovers. 

“You think that lying to you was easy for me?” Johnny counters. “For god’s sake Taeyong, you're one of my best friends. Do you think I wanted to lie to you like that?” 

Taeyong can feel the anger boiling within him, each punch being exerted with more force. “Then why the hell did you?” 

“I did what I had to for my job.” Johnny had simple answers to everything but this situation was anything but simple to Taeyong. 

“So that's it? I was just a fucking job.” 

“Are you listening to any of the words coming out of my mouth? God you're so fucking dense.” 

“No Johnny, you're the dense person here!” Taeyong shouts, halting Johnny's movements. “More than Ten, who I have these bizarre feelings for. More than Mark who is like my little brother. More than Taeil who gave me guidance in life. More than my parents who fuckihg raised me. You lying to me hurt the Goddamn most because I told you absolutely everything! There was no one else I told my darkest secrets to. No one else that I spent hours talking to. No one else who has been there for me like you have. And yet all you fucking care about is some stupid ass crown!” Taeyong’s fist collides with Johnny’s jaw. “So fuck you, Johnny!” 

Taeyong’s words pull all of the sentences right out of Johnny’s head. “I- I'm sorry.” 

“Save it.” The throbbing in Taeyong’s fist was satisfaction enough. “You knew didn't you?” 

“Knew what?” 

“That I liked you all throughout high school?”  And there's that look that Taeyong knew too well. The look he had when he was hiding something. The heavy sigh followed by the regretful eyes. 

“Yes.” Johnny admits avoiding Taeyong’s gaze. 

“Of course you did. And what you acted like it didn't happen because Ten existed in some land far far away?” 

“Taeyong…” 

“And let me guess you haven't told him that we've kissed either?” Johnny’s silence told him enough. They didn't speak about it much back then, a drunken kiss that Taeyong remembered too well and Johnny forced himself to forget. Taeyong always had a feeling that Johnny was lying about not remembering but this was all the confirmation he needed. He laughs bitterly, “I guess the crown isn't always your priority then, is it?” 

“I'm over it.” Both the conversation and his crush were over with. “This session is done and I want a new teacher.” Taeyong storms past Ten to exit the room walking to God knows where. Ten’s heels clack behind him, although he isn't saying anything. His feet take him to the garden outside hoping that the serenity of nature would bring him some peace. 

“You know that I don't care if there was anything between you and Johnny, right?” Ten tries his hand at ebbing Taeyong’s frustrations. “I've been with people, you've been with people. The fact that one of them was one of my closest confidants doesn't matter to me.” 

“It mattered to me when it happened, you know.” He didn’t care too much about it now, his first year of college was dedicated to getting over Johnny. And believe him, he got over Johnny and under some others in the process. “It just sucks to know that he fucking ignored it because you existed here. He could've just told me it could never happen, but he never said anything and gave me hope.” 

“I'm sure Johnny thought that he was protecting you or me or himself.” This left Ten in an uncomfortable position. He didn't want his mate upset but he also didn't want to throw his friend under the bus for putting the Prince first.

“I'm sure he was too. Always fucking thinking about others before himself. That's what I liked about him before I realized it could also make you a dick.” 

“Dick indeed.” Ten agrees, laughter erupting from Taeyong. Ten blinks at his mate, confused.  “What?” 

“Thanks for not being weird about this.” Taeyong kicks at the dirt, digging his hands into his pockets.

“This entire situation is weird the least that I can do is not make it uncomfortable for you.” They stand in silence a few minutes, watching the clouds roll through the sky. He doesn't know if this place follows seasons, but the weather now is mellow just to Taeyong’s liking. “It's probably not my place to say, but now that Johnny knows how you're feeling maybe you guys should try to have an actual conversation.” 

“All the rational parts of me agree with you.” 

“But?” 

“But I want him to suffer a little longer.” 

“Good to know that this is the reality I will be facing.” Ten laughs, rolling back on the balls of his heels. 

“I'm kidding. It's just best not to talk out your problems when you're angry.” Taeyong continues before Ten can get the words on the tip of his tongue out. “And before you say something stupid like you'd rather have my anger aimed at you than at them, don’t because I feel like I barely know you.” 

“I know that it feels like I was lying to you about everything but everything that I ever told you in the weeks we were together was me, a part of me at least. But there's this entire other side of me that I can share with you now that you're here if you would let me.” Taeyong makes the mistake of looking into Ten’s eyes at that moment. The brown orbs big and pleasing for Taeyong to let him in, and boy did Taeyong want to sink into that gaze. 

“I'm gonna get you, Renjun!” The Dream kid is running full steam ahead.

The boy running in front turns back to laugh at his friends, “You'll have to catch me first!” 

The first kid pauses when he sees Ten, the second boy running square into the first. The remaining Dream kids following right behind. They fall into a bow straight away. 

“What have I told you guys about bowing in informal settings?” Ten sighs affectionately. 

They straighten up one by one. “That we shouldn't?” They’re wearing more casual clothing than the last time he saw them, probably off of official duties. 

“Whoa, he’s even prettier up close.” One of them admires, the same lanky boy from before.  

“Chenle!” The other boys shriek.

The boy scoffs, crossing his arms in front of him. “I'm sorry that I have the guts to say what we're all thinking.” 

“What are your names again?” They are babbling off their entire titles one by one, Taeyong is lost in the slew of works. Jeno, Jaemin, Chenle, RenJun, and Jisung. He could remember those, maybe.  

“What did Renjun do this time?” Ten asks. 

“Why are we always under the assumption that I did something wrong? You know maybe we'll switch it up one day and Jisung will do something wrong.” Sounds like a guilty party to Taeyong. 

Ten laughs, “Well considering Jisung was the one running after you trying to kill you, I would say in this instance that that is unlikely.”

“He pulled another one of his stupid pranks,” Jisung answers begrudgingly. Taeyong assumes that the brown marks all over his clothes are the results of the called prank.” 

“Stupid? My pranks are legendary! The other guys were laughing.” Renjun declares, crossing his arms in front of him. 

“Yeah because they didn't slip through some manifested sludge,” Jisung shouts turning his back towards the other boy.   

“You can’t blame me for your lack of agility.” Renjun asserts with a roll of his eyes.  

Ten sighs as if his he’s an exasperated older brother,  “First, Renjun apologize to Jisung.” 

Renjun begrudgingly turns to the other boy, “I'm sorry Jisung.” 

“You're almost graduating to NCT, you can't pull antics like this when you join higher ranks.” Ten scolds.  

“That's why I have to get them all out of my system before I graduate.” 

“That isn't the logic I hoped you would implicate but okay. Maybe no more manifestation pranks, is that a fair deal?” 

“I can make no promises but I'll try.” 

“That's all I ask of you.” It was weird seeing Ten in this way, authoritative and yet relatable. He's had twenty-two years to perfect it. 

“Sorry for disrupting your intimate moment.” Renjun apologizes. Taeyong isn't sure how they could mistake the situation as intimate when there's at least a yard separating the two of them. 

“It wasn't-" Taeyong and Ten both start but stop. Speaking in sync definitely isn’t a mate thing. 

“Whatever you’re thinking, it wasn’t.” He doesn't know why he feels the need to deny. He doesn't need some kids running around thinking he was doing something indecent with a Prince out in the open.

“Right.” Jaemin wiggles an eyebrow. 

“We know all about how fast humans move,” Chenle says, earning him a pinch on his side from Jeno. 

“And what by chance do you guys know about that?” Ten asks, amused by the younger boys attempts.  

“Whatever Mark and Donghyuck told us.” Of course, it was those two. Mark was an over-sharer and Donghyuck had no filter. 

“Oh my God, I can't believe all they do is corrupt you all.”  Ten cries. 

“It isn't rocket science. And besides, we’re teenagers, not toddlers.” God, these kids were a bunch of smartasses.  

“I literally saw Jisung be birthed, you all are children.” 

Jisung pales, absolutely appalled. “Who the heck let you into a birthing room before you even reached double digits?!”

“That is beside the point.” 

“We’ll leave you two to whatever you were doing.” Jaemin grabs a firm hold onto Jisung and Chenle. “Jeno grab Renjun, we’re going?” Jeno follows his orders, grabbing Renjun by the collar of his shirt. 

“Public indecency is a crime here!” Chenle calls. 

“I make the rules!” Ten retorts. 

“You go Ten!” Renjun hollers. The boys are out of sight soon enough. 

“They know how fast humans move?” Taeyong questions once as he’s sure they're alone again. “If I recall correctly, you moved pretty damn fast.” 

Ten’s ears turn red, but he hides his embarrassment behind a laugh. “Hm, not that that doesn't happen here but courting is bigger.” 

“Courting? What is this? Medieval times? How archaic.” 

“Nothing too grand. My dad told you. It took months of his sending people to my mom to get her to even agree to go to the castle let alone marry him. Courting implies serious intent.” Ten explains. 

“Then why the fuck haven't you courted me bro?” Taeyong jokes. 

“Do you want to be courted? Because I can have that arranged.” There was no doubt in his mind that Ten would try to pull out all of the stops if Taeyong allowed him to court him. 

Taeyong shakes his head, “No, that seems overwhelming as fuck.” There was also the very real possibility that he may die of embarrassment.  

“If you ever change your mind, I'll be happy to court you. I've never courted anyone before so it'll be very trial and error.” Ten wistfully comments looking up at the clouds rolling through the sky. 

“None of the lucky people that have ended up in your bed have had the honor of being courted by a prince?” 

Ten laughs at Taeyong’s disbelief. “One, why would I court them when I know my mate is out there? Two, like I said courting is with the intention of lifelong commitment and they all knew that I wasn't in it for that.”

“You kinda sound like a dignified douchebag.”

“They certainly didn't feel that way.”

“Confident aren't we?” Taeyong asks jokingly. He wasn't the first guy that he's met that has bragged about his skills in bed. Most of those guys were always shit, but Ten seemed like he could back up their statements. 

“I haven't had any complaints thus far?” 

Taeyong hums, “Is that because you're a prince or because you're actually good?’ 

“I could show you one day and you could let me know.” Ten made a good point. The best way to learn was through experience. 

Taeyong chuckles, “Are you even allowed to be this suggestive?” 

“I'm allowed to be anyone I want within reason. Obviously, I'm not going to go on live television to talk about who I’m sleeping with.” There were a lot of expectations of him as a Prince but at the end of the day all the citizens wanted was a leader that had the people’s people’s best interest in mind. So despite his mother's pleas that his excessive piercings and tattoos were a bad example for the children in the kingdom, she didn't do anything to actively stop him. 

“By the way, I would let you.” 

“Huh?” When Ten turns to look at Taeyong, their eyes meet. 

“I would like you to show me the royal side of you.” 

“Really?” Ten blinks, failing to hide the smile blooming on his face. 

“Why are you so surprised?” 

“I don’t know. I've been dreaming of this for like forever.” 

“Well don’t disappoint me then.” 

Ten has a meeting to attend, not before he walks Taeyong back to his room. They find Johnny standing at Taeyong's door, leaning against the wall staring into his phone to kill time. Taeyong wants to turn on his heels and run for the hills, but Ten slides his hand in Taeyong’s own, the nerves ebbing away. 

“He just wants to talk. It's okay.”

“I knew we'd have to talk but a couple of hours is too soon.” 

“You know how headstrong Johnny is. He couldn't leave this alone for more than a day if he tried.” Why did Ten have to be right? 

Johnny looks up the pair, a small unreadable smile on his face. “Can we talk Taeyong?” 

“I guess I don't have a choice?” 

“I'll come back around for you after my meeting?” Taeyong nods. Johnny waits until Ten turns the corner down the hall before starting. 

“We’re not having this conversation in the middle of the hallway are we?” 

“Do you have a better place in mind?” 

“I've only been here a few days. You know better than me.” 

“We can talk in our dorm living room. The other guys shouldn't be there.” The guy’s living quarters are a floor below his own. The place looks well lived in to say the least, random pieces of clothing strewn about and dishes piling up in the sink. That certainly wouldn’t have been the case had they been at their apartment back on earth. “Do you um, want anything to drink?” 

“We may as well skip the awkward crap and go right to the hard part.” 

“I’m sorry.” Johnny breathes, avoiding Taeyong’s gaze by playing with his thumbs on his lap. Johnny was nervous, in all of the years Taeyong’s known him, he’s only seen Johnny get nervous once. When a girl had suddenly confessed to him in the middle of the lunch room in front of everyone, his face lit up brighter than a traffic light. “I should have been more honest when it came to your feelings.” 

“You’re damn right.” 

“Back then I fought a lot with myself in regards to my feelings towards you.” His feelings towards Taeyong? He isn’t quite sure if he heard the older man correctly or if it was his mind playing tricks on him.  

“And you decided that it would just be best to act like my feelings didn’t matter?” No, Taeyong shouldn’t be that aggressive. Johnny was trying his best to explain. 

“I guess that’s what it would have felt like to you.” Johnny nods in agreement. “At the time when I noticed you had feelings for me, I tried to avoid you for a week. But you kept calling and texting and eventually showed up at my house so I couldn’t avoid you anymore.”

“I knew you were fucking lying,” Taeyong remembers it well. Johnny claimed that he had a bad case of the flu and avoided replying to any of his messages for days. Taeyong marched over to his house, banging on his front door refusing to leave until he saw that Johnny was at least alive. The last thing that he expected was for Johnny to open the door looking perfectly fine not even a red nose to indicate sniffling.  

“It was easy after that to ignore your feelings for a while. I figured that if you weren’t going to act on your feelings then I wouldn’t address it.” Johnny admits. “And that worked for some time until—”

“Until I kissed you.” Taeyong completes his sentence. 

“Yes, until you kissed me.” Johnny swallows. He can feel Taeyong’s eyes burning holes into him and he can’t bear to even take a quick glance at his friend. “I guess you thought that I was drunk which is why you took the risk. Part of me wished that me kissing you back was because I was drunk because that would’ve been easier to shrug off. But I was so painfully sober because human alcohol just doesn’t have the same effects on me.” 

Hearing it the second time around didn’t hurt as much as the first. 

“So the next day, I acted like I didn’t remember because that was the easier thing to do. Seeing the utter disappointment on your face the next day fucking sucked. And then I started thinking about why I kissed you back in the first place. And it hit me like a pile of bricks, I liked you. I didn’t know when it started but the feelings were there and it sucked.” 

“I’m sorry that the prospect of liking me seemed like such a burden.”

“It wasn’t the fact that I liked you that caused me distress. It’s what liking you meant in relation to everything I’ve been taught my whole life. I was always told that you and Ten were destined to be together. I was always taught that I needed to put Ten’s safety in front of my own. I was always taught that the crown came first and my own desires came second. And liking you," Johnny hesitates, licking his dry lips, before continuing, "liking you made me selfish and made me feel like I betrayed every lesson I ever learned. I couldn’t put myself in front of Ten because every single fiber ingrained within me told me that it was wrong. So I buried my feelings for you in the deepest depths of my brain, and they died there never being acted on.” Johnny sighs. “It wasn’t until I met Jaehyun that I started getting over you.” 

“You and Jaehyun?” How the hell did he miss that? He lived with Jaehyun for heaven’s sake.. 

“That’s another story for another day. I know that it was a dick move to not just turn your down but it was the only thing I felt like I could do to not lose you or Ten. And most importantly myself.” Johnny looks at his then, with eyes so apologetic they could make the coldest of hearts crumble. Johnny wasn't one to be apologetic. Every move he made was done with such confidence that he didn't feel the need to apologize if things went wrong. “I should have handled it better, Tae. I'm sorry.” 

“I guess I was so focused on my own feelings that I didn't consider how you could have been feeling.”

“I guess we can both be pretty inconsiderate, can't we? No wonder we're such good friends.” 

The front door swings open, Mark pauses in the door frame his hand still on the doorknob when his eyes fall on the pair sitting on the couch. The people following behind him crash into his back. 

“Retreat! Retreat.” Mark orders. 

“No, it's fine!” Johnny calls for them. 

“Is the cold war over yet?” Jaehyun asks looking over at Johnny first, before turning to Taeyong. Taeyong nods. “Thank God. It's great to have you back, Taeyong!” 

Taeyong leans over to whisper, “You and Jaehyun?” 

“It’s complicated?” He offers back. 

“Taeyong?” A person he doesn't recognize squeaks before bowing. “It's an honor to be able to serve you and Ten!” 

“Don’t do that, it makes him uncomfortable.” Mark pulls him up by the back of his shirt. “This over-eager dude is Yuta.” Yuta had a smile almost too wide for his face, warm and welcoming. 

“And the silent idiot is Sicheng but we call him Winwin.”  Jaehyun introduces. 

“I’m not silent, I just have nothing to say.” Winwin asserts, brushing his sweaty fringe back.

Mark wraps an arm around Winwin’s neck in a brotherly fashion, “Now that you’ve stopped hating us we must talk about you replacing Winwin. He is absolute trash at ball.” 

Winwin pinches at Mark’s sides, “I didn’t want to join your stupid league in the first place. I’m sorry that I’m so inept in the stupidly human sport. Challenge me to a round of feinsail and you guys wouldn’t last a second.” 

“Feinsail?” Taeyong looks to Johnny for some answers, to which Johnny just shakes his head. 

“My dear friend Sicheng,” Jaehyun hands the man a bottle of water with a smile on his face, “you greatly overestimate your athletic abilities.” 

He accepts the bottle despite being insulted, “You guys are assholes.”

“What do you say Taeyong? Want to join our league?” 

“In between training lessons and learning how to be royal, I don’t think I have the time.” 

“I heard about that!” Mark muses, “Johnny’s your teacher right? How is that going?” 

Johnny laughs showing off the bruise blossoming along his jaw, “Well let’s just say that when he actually hits you, it hurts tremendously.” 

“Whoa Taeyong did that?” Mark gapes, passing where Taeyong is sitting on the couch. “Nice.” Mark slaps his hand in a high five.  

“I could punch you too, and we could match if you like it so much.” Johnny threatens with a smile on his face, Mark’s smile falling into a line. 

“Nah, I’m alright.” 

“Did you put the aloe on it like I told you to?” Jaehyun asks in a flat tone, trying his best to sound indifferent. Taeyong wonders the timeline of their relationship. He hadn’t met Jaehyun until college and Ten had mentioned that Jaehyun applied for recruitment at sixteen which means that they wouldn’t have trained together since Johnny was already integrated on earth full time. It must’ve been during the first few years of college, that’s when Johnny and him were the most separated. 

“Yep, doesn’t hurt as much.” 

“You should really go to the healer. Make sure he hasn’t fucked up your jaw alignment.” The guys were really poking fun at Johnny for it. 

Johnny brushes him off, “It really isn’t as bad as it looks.” 

“No need to act like a big guy in front of us.” 

After the guys tire of making fun of Johnny, they retreat to their respective rooms. Taeyong can’t imagine that he’d be able to live through another moment alone with Johnny so he decides to leave too. 

“We can set a schedule for training later, if that’s okay with you?” 

Taeyong nods. 

“I want to follow a rigorous regimen so that you’re able to defend yourself very quickly.” 

“I can’t promise that I’ll be too good.” 

“As long as you can throw an accurate punch like you did today in the face of danger then you should be okay.” 

“I’m sorry about that by the way. Didn’t expect to bruise you up.” 

“I deserved it, so it’s fine. I’ll fade in no time.”  

“See you.” 

 

A knock on his door doesn't come until the light outside is replaced with darkness. The darkness outside mirrors the gaunt look on Ten’s face when Taeyong opens the door. 

“Is everything alright?” Taeyong asks. 

“Yeah, just tired.” Ten melts into Taeyong’s bed, facing the ceiling resting the back of his head on his arms. 

Taeyong settles beside him, copying his position. “Were you at the meeting all this time?” 

“Multiple ones. Some of them ran longer than expected. Others came up out of the blue. There was a lot to talk about today.” 

“The life of a royal isn't as luxurious as it seems huh?” 

“Not even close. Unless you're some glorified figurehead like the British monarchy.” Taeyong never knew that Ten had such passion in regards to the monarchy. “Don’t get me wrong, it has its perks. But there's also a lot of work to be done.” 

“What was the topic of conversation today?” 

“You mostly. Or topics surrounding you.” Oh. He wonders if that's a good thing or bad thing but judging by the tone of Ten’s voice it mustn't have been too good. “We have a good idea as to who was behind the attack.” 

“Isn’t that a good thing?” 

Ten chuckles at Taeyong’s naivety, “Unrest within a kingdom is never a good thing.” 

“So who is it?” 

“An anti-soulmate group called Antithesis.”

“You people sure are extra with your dramatic ass names.” Taeyong’s words bring a smile to Ten’s face. “Why would anyone be against soulmates?” 

“Well long before my parents and their parents before my lineage even had reign over the kingdom, mated people were always held in high regard. They looked at the mate bond like it was a gift. Of course in turn that gave mated people an advantage and unfair advantages make people disgruntled. These days that advantage doesn't exist much except for the fact that my family rules over the kingdom.”

“So in order to get rid of that, they want to get rid of you?” 

“Or you.”

“Oh….” 

“The group has always existed but they've never been this bold as to outright attack a member of the council.” 

“I guess I was an easy target.”

“You should've been anything but an easy target. It’s not easy to transcend to that realm with that amount of people. And even if they figured out how to transcend, finding you would’ve would’ve been the much harder task. Which brings up the question, how were they able to find you when only so few people knew of your existence?”

“A mole.” 

“That is, unfortunately, the most likely situation at this point so we need to tread carefully with the information we let out.” 

“Well, that isn't good at all.” 

“Let's just say that I have higher than average levels of stress right now.” There’s a smile on his face even though his eyes are downcast. Taeyong wonders how frequently Ten is able to hide his concerns behind a smile. He supposes that it was reassuring quality to have in a leader, being able to smile despite the adversities in front of them. 

“How do you go about finding a mole?” 

“By lying to those around you and seeing which lie gets leaked to Antithesis. But until that works, we can't just sit around like ducks waiting for their next attack. I'm not letting them get that close to you ever again.” There’s a determination lingering in his voice.

“What can I do to help you?” 

“I need you to continue taking lessons from Johnny and I need you to stay vigilant to any weird behavior around you.”

“Do you think the mole is someone near me?” 

“No, at least not right now. But I’d imagine that they'd try to get closer to you now that you're here.”  Not only did he have to worry about fitting into this world but he also had to be wary of the people around him? Give him a break. Ten sighs. “My dad wants to abdicate the throne to me.” 

“What?” It was moments like this where Taeyong wished that he knew how to maneuver the mate bond. It would give him the ability to tell how Ten was feeling. He speaks plainly without emotion, which Taeyong supposes he picked up from years of hiding emotion. At least through the bond he’d be able to feel anxiety, worry,  _ anything _ .

“It's why it took so long. There aren't many people thrilled at the idea of switching leadership during a time of civil unrest.” 

“And how do you feel about it?” 

“I've been training for this my whole for the moment that I would be able to sit on the throne as king. But turning over power at a time like this is not a strategic move. My dad isn't relenting though.” 

“So what does that mean for you?” 

Ten cocks his head up to look at his mate, “That I'll be a little more tired from now on.” 

As if the strings of fate were tightening around him, he’s drawn to Ten’s lips. Ten’s breath hitches in the back of his throat, stilling as Taeyong slowly approached him. It was nothing more than a simple press of the lips, but the energy traveling between them was unmistakable. Taeyong pulls back, watching Ten’s face eyes still closed before they flutter open. Their eyes meet, embarrassment flooding over him, moving back to their original positions. 

“What?”

“I’m sorry.” Taeyong apologizes, flustered. 

“You don’t need to apologize. I’m just a bit confused.” Ten turns on his side wanting to watch the contours of Taeyong’s face. The blush painting Taeyong’s cheeks were endearing to Ten. 

Taeyong shakes his head, refusing to let Ten see his embarrassment. “I don’t really have much of an explanation for it other than the fact that I’m impulsive.” Truthfully he figured that even if he couldn't feel Ten’s anxiety through their bond, he could feel it oozing through his skin. He thought that the kiss would help ease Ten like physical contact had helped himself all of those times before. 

“I don’t know if this will ruin the moment but as I am uncertain how much information the mole knows about us, it might be best if we don’t go public as a couple for the time being. That is if we are a couple.” There was a question lingering behind his last words. A question that Taeyong didn’t have an answer for yet. 

“Oh…” That’s definitely not what he had expected Ten to say at this moment. “I can do that. Anything I can do to help.” 

“How was your talk with Johnny, by the way?” Taeyong turns on his side to face Ten. He looked tired, the dark circles pulling under his eyes. 

“Good, I think we cleared the air.”

“I’m happy to hear that. Watching you two fight this morning was very,” Ten hums to find the correct word, “unpleasant?” 

“Really? You don’t think that my future career as a boxer has promise?” 

“Not even the slightest chance.” They laugh. The air stills between them again, electricity coursing through them. Ten breaks the silence, breathing out a small, “Thank you.”

“What for?”  

He smiles, “For being here.” 

Oh.  _ Oh _ . It wouldn’t be possible to stay mad for long when a simple smile could make his heart flutter. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so it's been like 2 months since I last updated because I was working 13 hours a day :((((( and I go back to university this week so I really wanted to get this out  
> I had a block of sorts because of work but I think I know where I'm going with this.   
> I'm also working on some other long fics that im not posting until they're done (don't need another disaster on my hands) and some other one-shots. I'm also working on changing my writing style, i am overly ambitious. 
> 
> Anywaysssssss, thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> How'd you like the first chapter? Not quite sure how long I intend for this to be or how often I'll update with finals approaching and all that jazz, but it's been fun writing it thus far.


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